


Days Hurrying By

by leehwi



Category: Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Frequent Time/Scene Changes, M/M, Reincarnation, Space Gays in Love, will update tags as I go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:37:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 29,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23403094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leehwi/pseuds/leehwi
Summary: Long before Data was created, Noonien Soong had made a promise to the Q continuum to protect Geordi La Forge's heart, no matter the life, no matter the time. But nothing lasts forever and a grave mistake leads to irreparable damage that Noonien can't fix. He has to find alternate methods to ensure that Geordi does not reincarnate alone for the rest of his lives.
Relationships: Data/Geordi La Forge, Geordi La Forge/Altan Soong, Geordi La Forge/Noonien Soong
Comments: 25
Kudos: 21





	1. 1983, New York

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, thank you for clicking on this!  
> This fic is going to be all over the place, some chapters will be very short and some will be very long, so please bear with me. I have never written a Star Trek fic before (as you can tell if you've seen my acc), so I'm quite nervous about posting this. I'm using spell and grammar checks on my google docs, but these are not really edited so please forgive any mistakes. Also I'm doing my best to reference check things and do my research but if there are any inaccuracies, please be kind but please do tell me!  
> Hopefully you enjoy this!!
> 
> I will include any trigger warnings for each chapter in the notes, so please always read them!!
> 
> TW: implied racism and homophobia, club scene, suggested intoxication
> 
> (please keep in mind this is a short starter chapter)

**1983, New York**

Music thrummed through the darkness, pulsing through his body. He felt insane with hormones as his mind started to haze over, he had never felt this kind of energy and excitement before. It had been years since he had gone out, let alone joined the throng of people in the basement of the gym. The parties that were held down here usually only occurred once a month, hosted by a man named Riker, no one really knew much about him other than he was rich and gay, which was all they cared about. Rumor had it that his father owned the gym and allowed his son to host parties in exchange for bringing gym patrons.

Geordi moved slowly through the people, the music that was playing was a smooth disco beat, something easygoing and upbeat. He made his way towards the bar, suddenly feeling thirsty despite having already had two drinks. He pushed past a few queens who were giggling and stroking his biceps as he passed by. He winked at them as he walked backwards towards the bar. Not looking where he was going was usually a poor mistake, but it brought Geordi fortune tonight. He backed into someone and turned to apologize, when his gaze landed on the individual who he’d ran into, he found himself stunned to silence.

He was staring at the bluest eyes, almost like ice, piercing through the clouds from the smoke machines and the strobing lights that reflected off the silver plated ball that sparkled from the ceiling. The man had round glasses, wearing a white t-shirt and tight denim jeans. Geordi held his breath for a moment and he scrambled to find an apology, but the stranger saved him.

“Are you alright?” He asked politely, an easygoing grin appearing on his face.

“Uhhh,” Geordi blinked.

“How about I get you a drink?”

The man led him to the counter. A few drinks later, after Geordi had finally loosened up enough to make conversation and apologize, he discovered that the man was genuinely good natured and respectful, which was hard to find in this day and age.. especially in a basement.

“What did you say your name was?” The man asked.

“LaForge. And you?”

“Soong.”

“Odd name for...” Geordi trailed off, biting his lip.

Soong chuckled. “A white man? Certainly.”

“I don’t mean offense, sir.”

“I take none, sir.”

There was something jovial and inviting in his tone of voice and Geordi found himself relaxing a little. It was smart to be on edge in places like this, generally everyone here was family, considered trustworthy, but there was the occasional imposter looking to thwart the enjoyment of the community.

“Do you come here often?” Geordi asked suddenly. This man seemed far too polite to be a regular attendee of the club.

“Not usually, no. I prefer the balls, but I felt like going out tonight.”

Geordi’s eyebrows shot up. “The balls? Aren’t those for... well drag queens or transsexuals?”

Soong’s smirk stretched wide. “Yes. Does that make you uncomfortable?”

“No... Can I ask which you are? How should I be referring to you right now?”

“Male is fine, I only use female when I’m in drag. I’m not a performance queen, but I enjoy attending shows.”

“You must be very brave, Mr. Soong.”

“Dr. actually and no, I just have privilege that comes with my skin tone. The truly brave queens are anyone of color, it’s not safe out there for any of us, but there seems to be glowing targets on their backs. It can’t be shaken with innocent behavior.”

Geordi looked down at his drink. He knew the truths in what Soong was saying, he had experienced it and he was surprised to find the words coming from someone like Soong. It felt good to be acknowledged, to be seen. He had never gotten this kind of feeling from anyone before. 

“Let’s not discuss what we already know. Let’s dance, you can tell me more about yourself on the floor,” Soong offered his hand.

It felt like a dream almost, how quickly they fell in step with each other. Their bodies moved like sand in water, swirling around each other, settling only to drift apart and then come together again. It was as if they were always meant to be side by side, the bustle of people around them seemed to not at all distract them and their eyes never left each other once.

As the crowd started to dwindle, Geordi found that he was unable to tear himself away from Soong, he wanted to cling to him, to leave the club with him, maybe take him back to his place or to a hotel or something. But Geordi was the last person in the world to seek out a one night stand. He never asked for things like that, too used to being turned down.

But relief swam through him when Soong leaned close and whispered in his ear. “Let me take you home. Please?”

Geordi stared for a moment, he had been hoping for it but it was the first time that someone had asked him and that they sounded so eager, so needy. Needy for Geordi.

“Y-yes,” he stammered, sparing a second to lick his lips.

Soong as it turned out was quite a wealthy man, he owned a large apartment and had many lavish things in it. He almost reminded Geordi of the seedy businessmen that he would see down at the docks, but that was only because he was so well polished. But his personality was definitely a first for Geordi, he had never met someone so effortlessly charming and genuinely kind. 

The apartment was minimally decorated but there was obvious taste in Soong’s choice of decor and furnishings, which to Geordi were the clear gay vibes that factored into his home. The kitchen was sparse but Soong somehow produced a glass and was searching for some kind of liquid to fill it with. Geordi took the opportunity to look around.

In the living room there was a small shrine of frames, each with a piece of paper that Geordi had to lean in to read. It was a plaque of Soong’s accomplishments, actually a few of them. A doctorate, his degree, a few awards that were given for some kind of genius that Geordi had no claim to.

“What do you think?”

Geordi followed the voice to see Soong’s tall soft features lounging against the doorway. He looked stunning for a moment and Geordi had to compose himself. “Impressive. Majored in Computational Science and Engineering. You must be awfully smart, Dr. Soong.”

Geordi had caught the comment earlier “Dr. actually” but for some reason that hadn’t clicked. It was very impressive for someone his age but Geordi was concerned slightly why a young, smart, handsome man was single in this big apartment all on his own.

“Why me?” Geordi asked, moving to sit on the couch. He was used to seeing men approach each other in the club, usually seeking a one night stand or a quick thrill, but Soong hadn’t tried to put his hands on him once. He kept his hands to himself the entire time so far, which was not necessarily suspicious to Geordi, it was just unusual.

“We can just say I liked your mustache,” Soong replies with a smirk, sticking his head out of the kitchen doorway to look at Geordi, before disappearing again for a short time.

Geordi absentmindedly stroked said mustache as he said that, considering the attractive qualities that facial hair must bring to him. He wondered if perhaps Soong would not find him attractive without it.

“I’m joking, of course,” Soong emerged from the kitchen, two cups of tea now in hand. He handed one to Geordi, quirking his eyebrow. “You can’t surely tell me that you haven’t noticed yourself? Why not you? You’re gorgeous, you have the most brilliant smile, incredible eyes and...” his eyes trailed down Geordi’s body and he simply grinned and exhaled heavily.

A tingle ran from Geordi’s ears down to his toes, he shivered as he leaned forwards to sip his tea. “Not so bad yourself, Doc.”

Soong moved to sit next to Geordi, he crossed his legs and leaned back on the couch. It was hard not to turn and stare at the length of his body, Geordi forced his eyes straight down at his tea cup. 

“But why did you ask me here?” Geordi asked, licking his lips. 

“I...I thought I made that clear,” Soong frowned.

“Not exactly.”

“Let me make myself clearer,” Soong cleared his throat. His eyes scanned over Geordi’s face before drifting down to stare at his mouth. “LaForge-“

“Geordi.”

A grin. “Noonien... I find you very attractive, Geordi LaForge. And if you’ll permit me,” his eyes darted from his mouth to his eyes and back again. “I would very much like to kiss you.”

“I... I think I would like that too.”

“May I?” Noonien asked, clarifying despite the mutual desire. It made Geordi’s heart soar. 

“Yes... please.”

Their lips met softly at first, timid yet with interest, it would usually take Geordi a moment to warm up, but something intoxicating swarmed him and he deepened the kiss. As their lips slid together, flashes of images circled Geordi’s mind . Images of him and Noonien.. together.. he saw them dressed in crisp vintage suits dating back 50 years, dancing slowly in a parlor. He saw them wearing armor, wielding swords and play-dueling. The images were confusing but as they took hold of Geordi’s mind, memories came with them. Memories of so many lives together. Memories of the lives where they never found each other, doomed to live out that lifetime in solitude. Memories of fighting to find each other, of countless kisses and countless reunions.

When they finally pulled away Geordi saw Noonien for who he really was, a symbol of their love, a beacon of hope, his soulmate. Geordi gasped softly and cupped Noonien’s face. It was as if he was seeing an old friend for the first time in years.

“My love,” Noonien whispered, the same realization and shock in his eyes.

Their arms reach out for each other, pulling them closer and closer to each other until it felt like one ended where the other began. “Noon...” Geordi murmured, stroking his lover's face. “God it never gets old huh... every time we reunite is better than the last.”

Noonien smirked and nuzzled Geordi’s cheek. “Truly.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! This chapter was awfully short, just to get this fic started, hopefully I'll have the next one out soon.  
> I really really appreciate any kudos or comments :)  
> You can find me on tumblr @ subliminalheadspace.tumblr.com  
> Also if you want to see my inspiration photos for each chapter, feel free to send me an ask on tumblr, because I am being fueled by old photos of LeVar and Brent.


	2. 2068, Los Angeles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helloooo, thank you for the warm response to the previous chapter! I'm so glad you all enjoyed it and I hope you enjoy this one more <3
> 
> As always here are the trigger warnings:  
> frequent mention of alcohol and weed use (nothing graphic, it's used fairly casually), implied sex, mentioned character death, intense beach boys vibes ;)

A long puff from the cigar in his hand, Noonien leaned back, looking up at the night sky. It was chillier tonight than it had been the past few weeks, showing that winter wasn’t fully ready to relent to spring yet. He reached out his hand and let the smoke twirl through his fingers, if he used enough of his imagination he could almost feel it. It was hypnotic.

He preferred the calm of the outdoors, leaning back in his lawn chair, watching the stars twinkle above. It had been 5 years since Zefram Cochrane made first contact with intelligent alien life, and since then the world had been turned upside down. It affected everything in Noonien’s life, the news, his work, the market, even food. Everything changed to reflect Vulcan presence. Not that this bothered Noonien, but he was far more interested in tinkering with his robotics, which had become of far less interest to companies these days, everyone wanted alien technology now.

The company he worked for was on the verge of closing their doors, which would leave Noonien unemployed. Hence his venture out into the campgrounds on the dunes. There were various parties held out there every night, usually drunk people shouting up at the sky, trying to encourage more Vulcan to come to Earth.

Not that Noonien was against alien presence on earth, but he found the measures that people were taking to be a little on the extreme side. He still attended the parties just to enjoy himself, as there was plenty of alcohol and narcotics passed around, it was a sure way to lose yourself amidst the situation with the economy. Unemployment has increased in the past few years, opening up a lot of free time to spend on the beach, getting high with your friends and crying out to the sky.

The music that thrummed from some hidden speakers made it easy for Noonien to lean back and close his eyes, blocking out the presence of the 70 or so people that surrounded him. He could almost slip into a nap.

Or at least that was what he was hoping for, when he felt someone knock into him from behind, almost launching him out of his lawn chair. He was quicker to anger than he cared to admit and he turned around with force to look at who had just caused him such upheaval. It was of course his dear friend and roommate Jakob, because who else would be so carelessly clumsy?

He glowered at his friend, whose eyes were tinged with pink and who was giggling incessantly. He was clutching a small wrapped joint in his hand, using all the force of a child who’d found a new favorite toy.

“Jakob,” Noonien gave a mirthless smirk. “Don’t you think you’ve had enough to smoke?”

Jakob squinted up at the sky, as if expecting to see something descend from the dark clouds, he blinked once... then twice. “I haven’t smoked at all yet.”

If Noonien had ever taken an interest in comedy, that would be his opening line. “Bullshit. Take a seat, you’re hazardous walking about in that state.”

Jakob stumbled into the lawn chair that sat 6 feet away from Noonien. There were several of these placed around a fire pit, but the fire had gone out long ago, leaving Noonien sitting in the dark night, staring at the various dancing fools and couples that were making out in the sand. He watched a few people emerge from one of the parked campers, looking thoroughly blissed, he presumed they had just spent the past few hours having high sex, something he himself hadn’t experienced in a few years. He thought it didn’t sound unpleasant right now.

But Noonien was not an easy man, looking around he found it difficult to spot even one person that he would be interested in getting intimate with, sure there were some attractive specimens but what they had in physical looks he was almost sure they lacked in mental prowess.

He scowled specifically at a pair of youngsters that were aggressively grinding to the music, looking as if they were likely to slip into a camper before long. These 20-something year old kids were so naive and inexperienced when it came to love and the real world, but nearing 40, Noonien found trivial flings to be such a waste of time and energy.

These thoughts lingered with him for a moment as he played with the weight of the cigar between his fingers, it was warm and provided little comfort as the wind blew cold through the air and underneath his sweater and jeans. He shivered slightly.

“Come on, Noonien,” Jakob slurred, standing up again and swaying just a little. “Let’s dance.”

“I really don’t think I will, thanks,” he reached out and stomped the butt of his cigar against a rock around the firepit. “You go on, I’m going for a walk.”

He got to his feet and left his friend swaying in place, staring after him, before turning to join a small group of people who were now attempting some sorry excuse of a disco. Noonien did not look back at them as he walked up the beach, towards the line of trees that led to grass. He always hated sand.

The grass was much cooler against his bare feet and he deemed this suitable, walking further and further away from the hubbub and string lights. There was a certain charm to be found in the nuance of the quiet clearing of grass that bordered the noisy beach, it made him feel like he was watching this scene play out on TV. In a way everything had felt so surveilled to him recently. He did not feel like a character in this world anymore, it was almost as if he had no motivation left.

Depression was a tricky foe for him in his younger years and he could feel her icy fingers tap against his subconscious during his quiet moments. It was a mocking reminder that he was not guaranteed any sense of security. The darkness settled over this stretch of grass, almost detrimental to his vision, but his eyes were slowly adjusting.

When he finally felt a safe distance away from the party, he risked stepping through the trees back onto the sand, he felt the balls of his feet sink directly into the cool sand, it was somehow colder than the grass and he sucked air through his teeth as he stomped towards the shore. The water was quiet and calm tonight, as if she was forgiving the loud party-goers several hundred feet away for their lack of littering, which was something Noonien appreciated about these sorts of gatherings. They were always economically conscious despite their inebriated states.

He stared down at the water, the moonlight providing a faint reflection of himself staring back up at him. His rippling counterpart looked far more tired than he last remembered looking, but it came as no surprise to him, the dark bags underneath his eyes matched not so handsomely with the gauntness of his cheeks. He’d lost a lot more weight since the start of his unemployment than he had realized.

All he did these days was smoke, sleep and drink, fitting his lifestyle to the others who resided in their campers out here. Technically this was what homelessness looked like these days, it was an endless party, as long as the local sheriff continued to ignore the campers on public property, then they were fine. But whenever the government stopped looking up at space and started looking back at the people who were already here, then there would be issues of relocation, and possibly even law enforcement having to enforce the law. That day would be ugly whenever it came around.

Noonien lowered himself down to crouch at the water’s edge, his butt just narrowly not getting soaked when the water sloshed gently against the pebbles that were set into the wet sand there. The water was pleasantly warm, which surprised him, but it was really just the wind that made it so chilly, the water must have warmed up in the sun all day. In his crouched position he rolled up the pant legs of his jeans and stood up so he could stretch a leg out and slap his foot gently on the water to test the temperature. He decided it wasn’t too bad and stepped further in. 

He had waded in to his mid calf by the time he felt satisfied, he was partially immersed in the water and he could feel it start to dampen the bottom of his jeans, but he didn’t care that much. It was pleasant being over here by himself, or he thought he was by himself.

The water about 3 meters to his right seemed to ripple and bubble. He frowned. The calm surface now seemed to be breaking apart and splitting at the top where a hand shot up and then disappeared into the water again. Noonien’s instinct took over. Someone was drowning.

He moved as fast as he could with the weight of the ocean pulling his feet down into the sand beneath the water. He couldn’t let it win, he couldn’t let this person drown, they were most likely drunk or high and unable to fend for themself. It took all of his strength but he managed to make his way to them - luckily the water was pulling them closer to him and amidst the splash of water all around, he somehow got a grasp on their hand and tugged them to the surface. The force he used knocked them both off balance, but he stumbled backward as much as he could and when he fell, he was just close enough to the shore to use his elbows to keep his head from being sucked underwater. However the person he’d just rescued came tumbling down on top of him.

As Noonien regained his senses, he looked down at the body on top of him, surprised to find them in such a bare state. The man that was draped over his body was wearing nothing but a pair of swim trunks and the frown on his face suggested he was far from pleased with Noonien.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” 

“Pardon?”

“I was swimming, why did you pull me out?”

“I-I-“ Noonien struggled to find an adequate response but there was something about the cool composure of this man and the glint in his eyes even in the darkness. He was so beautiful. “I’m sorry, I-I was mistaken. I thought you were...”

“What, drowning?” The man scoffed.

“Well, yes.”

The man squinted at him, as if suddenly curious of him. “You look familiar. Do I know you? Are you famous or something?”

Noonien felt a light blush on his cheeks. It was certainly flattering that the man considered him to possibly be famous but as he felt the heat on his face, he realized that this near nude man was still pressed entirely against his body, his sweater and jeans thoroughly soaked as they were still mostly in the water and he could feel the weight of him on top of him more so than he normally would.

“I don’t think so, I’m... I’m no one really.”

“Well,” the man seemed to also become very aware of their predicament and he pushed off the ground, standing up, the water coming almost to his knees. Noonien could see he had a very nice physique. “Do you come here often? I’m the lifeguard so I recognize regulars.”

“Uhm, well I live over there. I’m a camper.”

“Ahhh,” the man suddenly chuckled, his voice was light and full of humor. “You don’t look like a hippie.”

Noonien felt his eyebrows crease as the man reached out a hand and helped tug him back to his feet. “Are all the campers written off as hippies?”

The man smirked, his lips were distractingly plump. “No offense meant.”

“None taken...”

“Geordi,” the man was still holding Noonien’s hand after helping him up, and he shook it.

“Noonien.”

“Pleasure.”

“Likewise.”

“Are you on the unemployment line? With most of the others here?”

The unemployment line was all too recognizable these days, people who were not quite jobless, but right on the edge of it. Barely clinging onto their jobs, despite not being given hours.

“That obvious, huh?” Noonien nodded, suddenly aware of how cold and wet he was standing with the wind barraging his figure, where his clothes clung to his skin. He couldn’t hold back the violent shiver that ran through his body.

“Cold?” Geordi’s eyebrows raised and he gestured for Noonien to step out of the water. “Let’s get you out of those.”

“Aren’t you cold? You’re wearing basically nothing.”

Geordi laughed heartily, it was very...pleasing to the ear. “I’m a lifeguard, I pretty much wear this 24/7. Come on, I’ll take you to my house and get you a towel.”

Alarm filled Noonien and he stopped in his tracks, watching Geordi walk a few steps ahead. “Your house?”

“Unless you’d rather go back to the party? I promise I don’t bite.”

Geordi seemed like a nice enough kid, but he also seemed young and naive, no doubt several years younger than Noonien. Inviting strangers back to his home? That seemed oddly foolish of him. But even as Noonien considered it, he felt the wind blow and remind him of the ice that was settling beneath his skin.

“Fuck, okay,” he nodded, trying to keep his teeth from chattering. The walk to Geordi’s house felt like nothing in comparison to what it could be, he figured being the lifeguard had its perks, i.e a house right on the shore.

It was almost romantic in its small cottage appearance, complete with a little white fence and a quaint pile of seashells on the porch. Geordi blushed as Noonien stopped to look down at them. They must have been something slightly personal to him, so Noonien offered a charming smile, to which Geordi returned a beaming grin before leading the man inside.

“Come on, I’ve gathered all sorts of clothes from lost and found. A lot of the time people will lose their clothes in the water and I have to give them something, so I have a stash. Don’t worry, I’ve washed them all.”

Noonien regarded him with disdain, but entered his home anyways, finding something deep inside of him ready to trust this dashing young lifeguard. Geordi’s home was much less quaint on the interior, it was very stark and clean, the technologies were modern and minimalistic. Geordi seemed to be very practical in this regard.

The further into his home Noonien walked, the more nervous Geordi appeared to be. He rubbed at his forearm, watching nervously. They were standing in some kind of front room, not unlike a sunroom. Off to the side was a laundry room of sorts, that led to a hallway.

Geordi shifted on his bare feet, he seemed to suddenly be very aware of his own state of undress, but he also made no move to cover up. Instead he seemed intent on leveling the playing field.

“Noonien, right? Take off your wet clothes, you’ll get sick. Come on, I’ve got something that will fit you.”

Noonien watched him, almost hesitant. He wasn’t sure if he was prepared to undress in front of a stranger, but there was a certain glint in Geordi’s eye that made Noonien inherently trusting of him. He slowly began to pull his sweater off over his head. He was consciously aware of the fact that he was unhealthily skinny right now, he had spent more time smoking pot than eating and he was not working out, leaving a hollow dip where his stomach used to protrude.

He sighed and finished peeling the wet sweater off of his body, feeling the damp of the ocean water still clinging to his skin, he shivered a little, aware of how firm his nipples now were. He was hoping that Geordi didn’t notice, but he figured that the other man wasn’t even paying him a lick of attention.

Oh how wrong he was. Geordi - unable to help himself - simply leaned against the doorway and observed quietly. Noonien wasn’t shy in his younger years, he tried to remind himself, so he continued to remove his clothes until he was in nothing but his navy blue boxers.

Geordi tried his best not to seem like he was ogling him, he knew that was impolite especially from a complete stranger but there was just something to be appreciated about the man's body, surely even Noonien understood this. There was an obvious age gap, but Geordi was not prepared to allow that to deter him, he had always been ambitious and if he found someone attractive, well... who was going to stop him?

Noonien shifted uncomfortably for a moment, very aware of Geordi’s gaze that raked over his body, he wanted to curl into a ball and hide his bony joints and the ashy skin that hadn’t been properly nourished in several months, not to mention the bags under his eyes. He held back a shiver.

That was all it took to force Geordi into action and the man jumped to turn and find some clothes, as if breaking himself from a trance. Noonien hadn’t had that kind of attention in a very long time. He waited patiently as Geordi dug through a dresser in the corner of the laundry room, before producing some sweatpants and a black t-shirt. 

“These should do the trick. But hold on, lemme find a towel for you.”

He disappeared down the hallway, leaving Noonien holding the clothes he’d produced, staring down at the light grey tile floor. When Geordi returned, he was brandishing two towels, one he handed to Noonien and the other he used to dab at his own limbs. He finished and tossed the towel into a basket by the washing machine. Noonien followed suit.

As Noonien struggled to tug the sweatpants and t-shirt over his head, Geordi went down the hallway and returned fully dressed, in a pair of black shorts that were about knee length and an oversized cropped sweater that was a sort of beige color. 

He quietly padded through the sunroom towards another hallway, where he hesitated by the entrance and looked back at Noonien. “Come on then,” he beckoned, before disappearing down the hall. Noonien thought he had never met anyone as strange or seemingly fantastic.

The room that Geordi was leading him to as it turned out was the living room, there was one very long couch that was grey and looked plush and soft, there was a rug and a bookshelf, a coffee table and a TV frame that was suspended on the wall across from the couch. It was very simple and clean and Noonien instantly felt comfortable. The other side of the room led to a kitchen, but Geordi stopped at the bookshelf and switched on an incense burner, which he moved to the coffee table to avoid rupturing the underside of the shelf above, before making his way to the kitchen.

“Want something to drink?” Geordi asked, the sounds of him rummaging through his cabinets carried to where Noonien was staring numbly at him.

“Why... why are you doing this?” he asked curiously. He didn’t want to seem ungrateful, it was just such an odd concept to him to invite someone into your home like this.

“Well, despite you interrupting what was a very nice night time swim... you were trying to save my life, and that says something about you. Or maybe I’m just being neighborly.”

They both smirked at that, before Noonien weighed his options and came up with.  _ What’s there to lose? You live in a camper on the beach and spend your days getting high and trashed with the locals. What is one drink with a handsome lifeguard gonna do? _

He accepted the drink, and went to lean against the doorway to the kitchen, watching Geordi’s sweater lift and sway as he moved back and forth from his liquor cabinet (under the sink) and his counter where he’d placed two glasses. He was not just pouring wine, as Noonien had suspected. No, he was actually mixing something, something that appeared to be very fruity and interesting.

Noonien was not well versed on his cocktails, so he pursed his lips and tried to peer around Geordi. “Do you mind me asking...”

“Sex on the Beach,” Geordi chuckled, watching Noonien’s eyebrows bounce up. “I thought it’d be kinda funny. But it is delicious too, I promise.”

A tiny hint of a blush appeared on Noonien’s cheeks, but it went away as he watched Geordi laugh and then shake his cocktail in a mixer bottle. He was extremely skilled in whatever he was doing - at least he gave that appearance.

Eventually they were sitting on Geordi’s couch, two drinks in each and Noonien was already starting to feel a little lightheaded, but he felt it had more to do with Geordi’s company than the effects of the alcohol. He sipped down the last of his second drink and then set it on the coffee table, leaning back to observe Geordi as he was telling a story about his childhood.

He had learned within minutes that Geordi had 7 siblings and had come from an extremely lively home, which was a stark contrast to the quiet air that fluctuated between them. Noonien settled further back into the couch, the smooth tones of Geordi’s voice was lulling him, almost to sleep, but there was the reminder in the back of his mind that this was still a stranger's home.

It was not till close to 3am that Noonien finally excused himself to go home. Geordi had a flash of disappointment in his eyes, but then he scanned the clock and his eyes widened. “Oh my goodness, I lost track of time, I-I’m so sorry, I’ve been rambling for so long.”

Noonien allowed a subtle smile to cover his lips, before he ducked his head slightly. “It’s no problem really, I just didn’t want to fall asleep here.”

Geordi nodded. “Of course. I’ll uh... show you to the door.”

As Noonien walked back to his camper, he couldn’t help but wonder what Geordi’s night routine was like. His was more along the lines of throwing water on his face, brushing his teeth and hopefully remembering to take his shoes off before he passed out, face first, on his bed.

By the time he had gotten to the passing out part, he found himself unable to get Geordi out of his thoughts, there was just something about him that he couldn’t shake, it was like he was already stained onto Noonien’s mind and soul.

  * \- 



Over the course of the coming weeks, Geordi would visit Noonien occasionally, they would swim or surf together, sometimes even walk to the row of food trucks and share lunch. It got to the point where even Jakob was expecting Geordi most days, he would ask Noonien when his friend was coming over. He would never fail to offer Geordi something to smoke, which the man would always politely decline.

“I’m a lifeguard who lives on a beach, in a sense, I’m always on the job,” Geordi chuckled.

Noonien chuckled, but Jakob seemed far too faded to have a response for him. But Geordi didn’t have much interest in Jakob, he simply gave Noonien his sweetest smile and offered his arm. “How do tacos sound for lunch today, Noon?”

The older man inclined his head politely. “Delightful,” he accepted Geordi’s arm, well aware of how dingy his own jeans and sweater looked in comparison to how smart Geordi’s slacks and t-shirt were. But he knew that Geordi would never be embarrassed or ashamed of being seen with Noonien, no matter what he was wearing.

They walked along the beach, until they reached the break where it transformed into cement, the warm sun made Noonien’s cheap sandals stick a little, but he paid it no mind. He listened to Geordi chat casually about his siblings latest drama and about his mother nagging him to move back to the country, she was concerned about the first contact and was trying to pull Geordi away from the beach, she seemed to think his safety was threatened here.

Noonien listened earnestly, he did not interrupt and he simply laughed along with Geordi as he giggled relaying the call with his 3-year old niece. He took delight in Geordi’s delight, it was contagious to say the least, he was too easy to be around, too easy to trust. Noonien knew he was making a mistake by allowing himself to fall in love, but he could feel the beginning of it. It was unavoidable.

They stopped at their favorite food truck, Geordi ordered his vegan tacos, Noonien ordered his elotes, they ate happily as Geordi recounted a story of a cute little girl building sandcastles across the beachfront. “I just think of the future when I see kids like that, maybe my kids will build sandcastles on that beach one day...”

Noonien felt himself pause at this. Kids suggested marriage, or at least a serious relationship, something that hadn’t occurred to Noonien in a long time. He wondered what kind of woman Geordi would want to have kids with... what kind of person.

“I had no idea that you had an interest in...” his words faded slightly and he reached for a napkin, dabbing at the imaginary food on his mouth. He seemed intent on distracting himself now.

“Kids? A family? Being a real adult instead of living out my surfer boy fantasies?” Geordi chuckled, clearly amused. “It’s something I always dreamed of as a kid, but I’ve never planned on it. I don’t think I would mind it though.”

Noonien shifted in his seat, leaning forwards to take a sip out of his drink, his eyes on the table in front of them, unable to look Geordi in the eye. He himself had harbored a desire to have a family, when he was a younger man, before he got wise. Before he had seen the cruelty in the world. But the goodness that he had found in Geordi... he wondered if he had been looking through false eyes for years.

“Oh don’t tell me you hate kids,” Geordi scowled briefly, he leaned back in his seat, observing Noonien with interest. “You’re one of  _ those  _ middle aged guys.”

“First of all, middle aged? I don’t appreciate that,” he laughed. “But no I don’t hate kids, I’ve just never met any that I particularly liked, to be honest. My sister has had a few kids, but they don’t like me either so I have good reason to have an aversion to those ones.”

Geordi held back from rolling his eyes. “Noonien, you really act all tough, like this mean old man who doesn’t like to be bothered or doesn’t want kids, but I think deep down you’re really just a big softie.”

_ A softie, huh? Only when you smile that smile that makes me feel like the only man in the world.  _ For some reason he felt it best not to say this out loud and he simply slapped his palm over his chest in mock horror. “How dare you accuse me of such a thing?”

The rest of their afternoon together went mercifully without any awkward moments, which Noonien was finding increasingly difficult. The ability to spend time near Geordi without making an absolute buffoon out of yourself, it was a wild concept to even comprehend let alone perform. But Noonien managed it with the surprising appearance of ease, as they walked and talked, arms locked. 

The sun kept them warm and as the evening crept closer, there was a cool air that settled over them, threatening to raise goosebumps on Noonien’s skin under his sweater. The pressure of Geordi’s arm holding him tight somehow provided warmth that spread across his chest and down to his toes, he wondered what kind of magical properties Geordi seemed to carry.

Geordi walked him back to his house, he invited him in for a drink. This exact scene played out too often, they would grab food, walk, then go and have a drink. They would sit in silence, or listening to a record, nothing more would happen. It triggered a frustration inside of Noonien that he hadn’t anticipated. He wanted Geordi and playing this game was getting old.

“I think I might go sit by the fire tonight, thanks anyways,” he gave Geordi a tight smile, noticing the surprise in the other man’s eyes. He didn’t quite seem hurt, but there was a visible upset in his expression.

“Of course,” he was searching for something to say, anything to convince Noonien to stay. But he drew a blank. “Thanks for today, Noon. I’ll uh... see you tomorrow?”

Noonien nodded slowly. This was not how he wanted it to be, he wanted to spend every single day with Geordi, he wanted to spend every waking moment with him, but he knew that this wasn’t going anywhere. Habits were unhealthy if they were forever unchanging.

He watched Geordi disappear back into his home, stopping in the doorway to look back at Noonien, he waved once before shutting the door. Noonien tried not to let his heart hurt. There were other days to come, days that maybe Geordi could be his, but the days that they did not belong entirely to each other were becoming increasingly difficult for Noonien.

  * -



The fire was warm against his skin, it crackled and danced in front of him, seductive and dangerous. He wanted to reach out and touch the tendrils that licked at the stones, watching how they left scorch marks there. He had a bad habit of wanting what could never be his, or what would burn him if he got too close. He was his own Icarus, any beautiful thing his sun.

Usually he would be drunk at this point, but something about the alcohol seemed sour to him and he had declined Jakob’s offer. If he was going to drink, it should be with Geordi sitting on his couch, staring out the deck door that had a view of the ocean at night. But here by himself, sitting on the lawn chair that was buried into the sand, watching the treacherous flames. This was not the right place.

He leaned back into his chair, hoping his shame and nerves would wash over him and force him into a sleep that was so deep he might be able to ignore the ache in his back and chest. As he felt the tendrils of sleep start to claim him, a cold hand gently brushed his cheek and he startled awake, his eyes shooting open.

Staring down at him in the dark night were the deepest chocolate eyes, Geordi’s eyes. He blinked up at him, surprised by how cool Geordi’s fingers were as they stroked down his cheekbone, stopping at his jawline.

“Noonien... may I sit with you for awhile?”

Noonien nodded dumbly.  _ Of course you can, Geordi, nothing would be more pleasurable than your company.  _ He wanted to say this so badly, instead all he did was nod. How foolish.

There was a silence as Geordi slowly lowered himself into the empty chair next to Noonien. Most of the beach dwellers had retired to their campers, save the few that were sat by the fire that was closer to the water, they dipped their feet in the water at the darkest hours of the night, whispering secrets to each other and occasionally kissing one another like strangers. Noonien wondered what it would be like to be one of them.

“This is much nicer than I expected,” Geordi spoke softly, crossing his hands over his lap, leaning back. His body stretched out on the chair, he looked much taller here than he usually did, Noonien couldn’t draw his eyes away.

“You didn’t think us hippies could do something enjoyable?”

“That’s not what I meant,” Geordi smirked. “I was never a huge fan of fire, it always made me nervous. The heat makes my eyes burn... but this is nice. It’s warm, the sky is beautiful, it’s quiet and... well the company is nice.”

Noonien narrowed his eyes at him. “Why did you come out here Geordi? Couldn’t stand the thought of having that drink alone?”

“Couldn’t stand the thought of being alone,” the other man spoke under his breath, but Noonien still heard him clearly. “It seems you’ve become indispensable, Noonien. I can’t bear not being with you.”

He felt his breath catch in his throat. That sounded an awful lot like some kind of a confession, one that Noonien wasn’t quite ready for. He leaned forwards in his chair, the heat from the fire burned at the tip of his nose, the heat warming his cheeks - it was definitely not due to the blush that was ready to burst from inside of him. No, not that.

“What is that supposed to mean?” he scoffed, he attempted to present himself as unflappable, hoping to hide how flustered he was.

Geordi rolled his eyes. “For as smart as you pretend to be, you really are a fool.”

The man rose from his chair, moving to crouch next to Noonien, he looked up at him, his eyes were soft and surprisingly full of emotion. Noonien had not anticipated this and he felt a modicum of nervousness overcome him. He shifted forwards, watching Geordi’s every move. He felt like this was a battle of nerves that he could not win.

“Noonien,” Geordi’s smooth voice was intoxicating almost and Noonien hesitantly allowed himself to meet the man’s gaze, despite knowing that he would be unable to look away. “Let’s stop beating around the bush.”

Before Noonien could speak, Geordi was already reaching forwards and taking his hand into his own, the warmth of Geordi’s hands was comforting in a way that Noonien had not expected. His eyes focused on their hands, he was starting to become overwhelmed with emotion and knew he wasn’t going to be able to hold eye contact in a moment like this.

Geordi’s palms were much softer than he had been expecting, he didn’t want to think about how nice they would feel running up his arms, how his firm fingers would feel pressing into the base of his scalp, getting a grasp of his hair. He shuddered slightly, the feeling of two fingers at his chin, pulling his head up to face Geordi.

“Don’t hide from this now, Noonien. Please,” Geordi whispered. He was still knelt on the ground, the sand was holding his knees as he pressed forwards, the feeling of Noonien’s thigh pressing against his chest, his elbow coming to rest on his knee. “I need this. We both do.”

It felt like a magnet was pulling them together, dragging the space between them to a close. Noonien’s eyes slid shut and he held his breath for a moment, the sensation of Geordi’s lips sliding over his overtook all of his senses. He felt his lips fall open, his hands hung at his side, unsure what to do.

Geordi’s lips were soft, his philtrum and jaw decorated in surprisingly soft stubble that scratched gently at Noonien’s own cheeks, making him sigh into Geordi’s mouth. A feeling bubbled in his chest until he felt like it was going to burst, and it did.. 

And when it did his mind filled with memories, memories of lying with Geordi, holding him close. He wanted to fight them, convinced they were hopeful dreams, but the closer Geordi pressed, the more memories came to him, the more images of being close to Geordi, running to him, rescuing each other, killing for each other... dying for each other.

His eyes flew open, not unsurprised to see Geordi looking back at him with the same expression, his hands releasing Noonien’s and moving to cup his face. He had to really get a good look at him, because whenever they found each other again, they knew they had to cherish the rest of this life together, their time always felt so much shorter than it was.

“So,” Noonien took a deep breath, trying to blink away the tears that were threatening to appear in his eyes. He felt his heart swelling in his throat, he wasn’t even sure if he’d be able to get the words out. “What now? What shall we do this time?” he chuckled.

Geordi cleared his throat, rising slightly from his knees, moving so that he was now in Noonien’s lap, the lawn chair beneath him straining. “Now, we do whatever we want to with the rest of our night. Do you think... we could convince Jakob to sleep with Sylvia and Artuur tonight, or shall we begin our walk back to my house?”

Using every ounce of physical strength he could find, Noonien wrapped his arms under Geordi’s back and legs and stood up, lifting his partner with him, cradling him in his arms now. “I think Jakob will get the idea.”

He carried him all the way to the camper, where they worked together surprisingly successfully to get the door open, but it was getting inside the narrow doorway that proved difficult. Geordi giggled and buried his nose in Noonien’s neck as the older man struggled to find the best way to carry him inside.

“Just let me walk!” Geordi‘s voice was muffled against Noonien’s throat.

“No, let’s just-” he let Geordi’s legs down to wrap around his waist, and had him chest-to-chest. “There, that should do it.”

He hooked an arm around Geordi’s knee, the other around his waist, and he carried him in the camper, stumbling the short distance to his bed, where they fell into a heap. Jakob, who was to no surprise, still awake, immediately rose to his feet and left, muttering something that sounded like “about time.”

The two soulmates did not part for many minutes, Noonien pressing his lips repeatedly to every inch of Geordi’s face, his breath hot and fast. Geordi gently carded his fingers through Noonien’s hair, tugging just the way he liked and stopping to run his thumb over the shell of his ear, making him shiver.

“My love,” Noonien breathed against Geordi’s cheek, stopping to rub their noses together, which succeeded - as it always did - in making him giggle. He could never get tired of hearing his giggles, it was better than music to Noonien. It was a gift from the gods.

“Hmm?” Geordi let his eyes close, enjoying the feeling of holding Noonien close to him, his legs were still around his waist, keeping him from putting any distance between their bodies, not that he would want to anyways.

“May I touch you?”

A tingle settled under Geordi’s skin and he opened his eyes briefly to look at him. He nodded, a smile spreading on his lips.

Noonien’s hands were as soft as always, moving down Geordi’s body, stopping to appreciate the shape of his hips, before undressing him slowly. They always took their time when they made love, no matter how many times they did it, they both felt the need to cherish it each time.

And indeed they did, they cherished each other all night long, until they were too tired to clean up, collapsing into the bed next to one another, staring intently into the other’s eyes, their fingers tangling together in between their chests. 

“I love you, Noon.”

“I know.”

“ _ Hey _ , come on. Don’t be funny.”

“Alright, alright, fine,” Noonien chuckled, reaching behind him to tug on the chain to his bedside lamp. “I love you too.”

  * -



“When do you think he’ll come?” Geordi asked, tossing a pillow at Noonien, along with a pillowcase.

It had been nearly two weeks since their official reunion and they had not seen or heard from Q yet, which was not too uncommon for him, he was not timely or consistent in any manner. But they anticipated his arrival, as they usually did. And they prepared for it as they knew it was expected of them.

Q was extremely particular about the way he was treated upon arrival, it was most likely going to be his standard check in, but he always insisted on being served hot earl grey tea whenever he came. They weren’t sure why that was, but they were happy to oblige.

Noonien had made the mistake of asking once and Q had turned him into a turtle for a short amount of time, causing Geordi brief panic. They had learned to be more careful around him since then, especially considering just how much power he held over their lives.

“Oh who knows? That old bastard likes to take his time, remember in ‘73 how he made us wait for a year?” Noonien spoke with disdain as he slid his pillow into the pillowcase.

Geordi frowned across the bed at him, he crouched down to tuck the sheet under on his side. “‘73?” he snickered. “Which one?”

Noonien sighed, stopping to think. “1673?”

The younger man closed his eyes briefly as he thought carefully, clearly digging through countless memories. “Oh shit, that was one of my favorites. His Royal Highness, Geordi LaForge and dashing Captain of the Guards, Sir Noonien Soong. Such times of romance, those were the good ol’ days.... what?”

Noonien’s mouth was hanging open, a look of disbelief on his features. “You pick  _ favorites _ ? Of our... our lives together? I can’t believe you!” he guffawed, his shock turning into amusement.

Geordi cackled, simply offering a shrug in response.

As their laughter was starting to die down, an unannounced voice made them both jump, only to relax at the sight of a familiar face. “Old bastard? After all I’ve done for you two, you really call me  _ old bastard _ behind my back? I must admit, I’m hurt.”

Q was leaning in their doorway, dressed in quite possibly the most hideous tropical floral print shirt with tan bermuda shorts and a pair of pink rubber sandals that had small flamingoes on the toe separators. Other than what he was wearing, he never failed to look exactly as he did the last time they saw him, however many decades ago that was.

“You two really ought to practice some manners, if you want to continue to receive my help,” he chided them, moving to push past Geordi and throw himself across their freshly made bed, the weight of his body loosening the sheets that they had just tucked in and crumpling the smoothness they had just slaved over.

“Nice to see you too, Q,” Geordi sighed, tossing his pillow onto the floor in frustration. He always did get easily worked up around Q, whereas Noonien found kinship in his boorish behavior and occasional crude remarks.

Noonien simply chuckled and set his pillow on the bed next to Q. “I’ll get your tea started, you two can get started catching up,” he nodded and left the bedroom, leaving Q lying on the bed and Geordi glowering over him. “Play nice.”

As soon as he left the room, Q sat up and stared at Geordi curiously. “He really is quite useless this time around, it seems. He has no physical prowess, how can you expect him to keep up with your vigorous love making?”

Geordi snatched up his pillow again and took a swing at Q, who simply snapped and the pillow disappeared from his hands, the bed underneath Q was instantly made and neat. Geordi grumbled and turned to leave, but Q stopped him.

“LaForge,” he spoke quietly, no doubt trying to keep Noonien from hearing him. If Geordi didn’t know better he would think that he looked nervous. “Has he been... his usual self? He hasn’t behaved strangely?”

“You know there’s no such thing as his usual self, the whole point of this rebirth situation is that we’re different people. Why do you ask?”

“No matter,” Q waved his hand and got to his feet to follow Geordi to the kitchen. “Well, well, Noonien, you got lucky this time around. You went from living in a van on the beach, to living in this... quaint little house with your lifeguard boyfriend.”

It seemed no matter how hard Q tried, he could never ruffle Noonien’s feathers, but that did not seem to deter him from trying. Noonien simply laughed in response and nodded. “Yeah, I suppose I did. Here’s your tea.”

Q snatched up the tea, moving to stand on the other side of the counter, observing Noonien suspiciously as he lifted his tea to his mouth. He took a sip and scowled at it, clearly not enjoying it. “Honestly I don’t know how Jean-Luc enjoys this,” he grumbled under his breath.

“Not to your liking?” Geordi raised an eyebrow. He walked around the counter to stand with Noonien, leaning his head against his lover’s shoulder, which seemed to disgust Q.

“It never is. I always hope it’ll be better the next time, but it never is.”

Geordi shook his head and moved to wrap his arms around Noonien’s waist, pressing his nose into the line of his shoulder blade. “Q, you never make any sense. But nonetheless it’s good to see you again.”

The omnipotent being who was all powerful and standing in their kitchen sipping some tea that he had declared ‘yucky’, gave Geordi a slight sneer and shrugged. “Well I suppose so, but keep in mind it’s only been about ten minutes for me. I just saw you two.. Well, kind of.”

“Kind of? Kind of just saw us?” Noonien smirked. 

“Kind of you two,” he sighed dramatically.

Geordi rolled his eyes. “I don’t have time for you to be cryptic today, I have a shift on the shore starting in about 20 minutes and I need to eat before then. Do you want to grab lunch with us?”

It was rare that Q refused such an offer. While they ate, he covered their usual things, under no circumstances were they allowed to leave any kind of clue that might lead their future selves to each other, they were not to discuss the details of their reincarnation or past lives with anyone for any reason and most importantly: they were not to purposefully harm each other or split apart or else that would break their cycle and whoever was the cause would no longer be allowed to reincarnate, leaving the other to continue to have new lives with no one to spend it with. The punishment ensured that they both suffered, encouraging neither to break the rules.

“And last but not least,” Q took a deep breath, seemingly preparing to leave. “This time around... you may have children. No more than one, we’re not trying to throw off the entire future timeline here, okay? But you’re lucky enough that... well it worked out that you can do it this time.”

Geordi felt excitement well up in his chest, tears quickly building in his eyes as he turned to Noonien, who remained impassive. He had never been big on kids, but every time around Geordi begged him and Q to allow them to adopt or something, but usually Q had some mumbo jumbo about upsetting timelines and throwing off the balance of the universe and such. But this time... this time that would change.

“Oh, Noonien,” he breathed softly, turning to grasp his lover’s chin as Q snapped himself far far away to some imaginary land. “Children... think of it, you and me as dads.”

Noonien tried to keep from scowling. He knew that Geordi knew he wasn’t fond of kids, but that wasn’t going to stop him from reiterating it.

Geordi shushed him before he could complain. “Now, now, listen to me. We have not been able to have children for years, please please... let us do it now. It’s such a good time, too. The school districts have never been better, the world is new and fresh and we’re safe and comfortable here. So please let’s... consider it.”

“We’ll talk about it later. You’ve got a shift and some waves to catch.”

As it turned out Noonien saying ‘ _ We’ll talk about later _ ’ was whipped speak for ‘ _ yes Geordi, whatever you want _ ’. Geordi found it exceedingly easy to convince him, but Geordi also had next to no trouble getting what he wanted from Noonien at almost any time, so it came as no surprise.

They adopted a boy within the next year, he was one and a half years old and was orphaned due to a fire in Malaysia and Noonien and Geordi had never known they could love another as much as they loved him. His name was Iman and he was energetic and kind and as he grew with them, he revealed himself to be intelligent and loving, the latter of which he’d gotten from Geordi.

The world changed with them and Vulcans became such an ordinary part of the world, warp cores were developed at an intense rate and Iman saw the stars for the first time on his 6th birthday, when Noonien and Geordi took him on a shuttle to Vulcan. Sitting in that transport packed with people, sharing the same air but also sharing the experience of traveling across the stars for the first time.

It was there that Iman whispered to Geordi that he wanted to be a scientist on Vulcan, he wanted to help more people have new experiences. Geordi felt tears come to his eyes and he placed a hand on his shoulder and promised that he would do everything he could to help him achieve that dream.

It was on that transport shuttle, cramped together, staring wistfully out the reinforced glass at Vulcan getting closer and bigger, that they breathed their last breath of shared air, before the shuttle broke the atmosphere and the warp core ruptured. The shuttle bubbled and burst from the inside out, the engine catching fire and the hull fracturing with the pressure of the atmospheric change.

22 people died that day, it was the last transport shuttle to run for many years, as the Vulcans and humans worked together to merge their technology and create new schematics for shuttles. The societal effects were massive, some humans believed that the Vulcans attacked them and it pushed the search for unity between the two cultures further away. It was years before a peace treaty was signed and the two worlds found a type of coexistence. It was these years that were the foundation for Starfleet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always you can find me on tumblr subliminalheadspace.tumblr.com  
> Feel free to come yell at me about this :D  
> Thank you for reading, please let me know what you thought!  
> I hope you're all staying safe and healthy during this quarantine, I'm sending my love and strength to you all through this fic haha <3


	3. 1673, France

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi friends! Thank you for tuning into Chapter 3. There is a sex scene here friends so tread carefully. Originally this episode was supposed to just be a compilation of various eras but I got way too into this one and it ended up being way too long to be mixed with other eras, so we're just sticking with this one. I hope you enjoy!!
> 
> content warning: sexual tension, a sex scene - marked by a break at the beginning and the end, if you at all feel uncomfortable, please skip this!!!

**1673, France**

“My Lord, there’s a fire in the stables, all of the horses are trapped!”

La Forge leapt from the table, following the other princes and lords out of the hall, following the steward who had come to alert them. They all rushed down the spiralling staircase, until they reached the main floor and fled through the opening that led to the courtyard. Billowing black smoke was visible in the sky and they followed it to the cause, which was the stable in question.

The growing crowd that was gathering outside of the stables began to panic as the flames grew and pieces of the stable roof began to collapse. La Forge heard a horrible cry from inside the stables, no doubt the trapped horses were frightened.

“Someone do something!” shouted Earl Guillaumont, who was one of La Forge’s least favorite of the men of the court. “Those horses cost a fortune!”

It seemed no one had the courage to help, until there was someone pushing through the crowd. “Move! Move!” a voice cried and La Forge tried to look over the other men of the court to see who it was.

It was a knight, who was currently... removing his armor. La Forge watched curiously as the knight ripped his breastplate off, then going to tug his vambraces off. He continued to shed his armor until he was left in his regular pants and he tugged his mail hood off to reveal that it was Soong, the captain of the guards. He was left in his padded brigandine and unsheathed his sword from his belt.

No one seemed inclined to help him as he ran to the stables, using his sword to cut the frame of the door as it began to buckle with the force of the fire. La Forge felt his heart in his throat as he watched the Captain kick the door open and he ran inside the burning stables.

Everyone in the crowd watched, holding their breaths. A few of the lords began to shout at the guards that stood at the base of the entrance to the castle, urging them to go help him, but they said he ordered them to stay put. They all watched on, waiting for the Captain to emerge.

It was several minutes before the gate that led to the pasture was released and the horses ran out into the field, La Forge counted them as they came out. They were all accounted for, causing relief among the lords, a few of whom - satisfied that their prize racing horses were safe - already had turned to make their way back inside.

But La Forge waited, with the remaining men of the court and all of the footsoldiers. They were quiet, it seemed they were afraid that if they made too much sound that it would jinx the safety of their courageous Captain. They heard a shout from behind them and La Forge turned to look. A man was running towards them from the town.

“My son!” he cried. “My boy! He’s in there!”

He had begun to run towards the stables, but La Forge jumped out to catch him by the shoulders, halting the man. “You can’t go in there, you will burn up with the rafters. What was your son doing in there?”

“He’s a stablehand, please he’s barely 14, I have to go help him,” the man begged, hot tears starting to spill down his dirt stained cheeks. “He’s lame, he can’t walk good.”

La Forge felt realisation run down his spine as he turned to look towards the stables, seeing the back half of the roof completely collapse, no doubt destroying anything that resided in the back half of the buildings. “You there,” he pointed at the nearest footsoldier. “Go collect water from the well, take as many men as you can. Sir, I’ll try my best to help your son, but please go collect water with my men, it’s the best you can do right now.”

He struggled to unclasp his long robes, tossing them at the nearest lord, he shoved the iron crown off of his head and handed that to the man as well. “Please, Lord Thiers, take these and wait for me here.”

La Forge rolled up his sleeves as he approached the burning building, he took a deep breath. He was extremely skilled in all athletic competitions that were held between the neighboring kingdoms, he had much faith in his physical prowess, he knew he would be able to run fast. He was just concerned with his vision not being as good as it used to be, even standing in front of the stables like this, his eyes were starting to burn from the smoke.

Just as he was ready to run through, he saw a figure through the haze of flames in the doorway, the one that the Captain had cut down. He squinted to get a decent look, trying to make out if it was the Captain or the boy. Whoever it was was beginning to move quickly and La Forge stepped quickly to the side, so not to block their way. 

Emerging through the wall of fire and the cloud of black smoke, the shape of the Captain pushed through, and mercifully, in his arms was the body of a boy. The Captain was already shouting orders to his men as soon as he cleared the doorway, he was demanding water and a physician.

La Forge was waiting to meet the Captain and once he was a reasonably safe distance from the stables, La Forge insisted he lay the boy down. He did as the prince asked, stopping only to look behind him as the last of the roof to the stables collapsed and the entire building was crippled.

“Is he alive?” La Forge asked as the Captain carefully cradled the boy’s head in his hands.

“He is breathing,” the Captain confirmed, bending down to listen at the child’s mouth. “Barely. Where is that physician?” he called out to the men. He had all the airs of a true leader, who shouted things like this even though he knew that events were occurring as fast as anyone could make them. It gave him the appearance of authority and La Forge felt slightly envious of this trait.

The Captain tore his brigandine from his torso, not bothering to untie the draws, simply ripping through them. He used it to cushion the boy’s head, while he braced his mouth open with his fingers, leaning in to perform a respiratory recovery method, forcing the air from his own lungs into the injured boy’s.

La Forge watched with anticipation as the Captain mimicked the rhythm of heartbeats on the boy’s chest, encouraging his heart to resume its normal pace. He continued alternating between these two actions until the boy coughed miserably and La Forge released the breath he was not aware he was holding.

The physician arrived as the boy began to regain consciousness. The Captain instructed two men to help the physician take the boy to his chambers, where he would continue treating him. As the guards helped to carry the child, La Forge turned his full attention to the Captain, noticing how burned his abandoned brigandine was, he observed the rest of him. His pants were slightly singed and there were several locks of his blonde hair that had clearly caught a whiff of flames. His face was blackened with soot and he was covered in sweat, panting to catch his breath while adrenaline no doubt pumped through his body.

“Are you alright, Captain?” La Forge asked.

The man turned to address the prince, obviously prepared to be quite brash before he remembered his place.

“I will be, Your Highness,” he nodded curtly, before snatching up his charred brigandine and stomping back towards the castle, leaving the prince to watch him curiously.

-

It had been a fortnight since the fire and La Forge found his thoughts consumed with the events of that day, mostly of the Captain himself. He had taken special interest in a few men before, but for some reason none had been as strong as the way he felt towards the Captain. He couldn’t clear his mind of the image of the Captain saving that boy’s life, his heroic display of courage made La Forge’s heart palpitate.

As it turned out, La Forge discovered that his special interest was flourishing and growing by the day, he felt ridiculous being a royal at his age, lusting after the captain of the guards. It was bad when he saw him, but it consumed him at night time, when he was lying in his chambers, in his oversized bed, surrounded by lucious cushions under his canopy. It was these hours that he allowed thoughts of the Captain to fill his mind. 

More than once he had allowed himself to indulge these fantasies, to pleasure himself while thinking of what it would be like to have the Captain over him, shedding his armor and wearing just his undershirt, pressing the prince into the mattress. He shuddered and increased the speed of his strokes, until he spilled over his hand and whimpered in satisfaction. Oh how he wished he could be anyone but himself at this moment. The scandal that would spread through the country if he were to engage in sexual relations with the Captain.

It was too dangerous to allow himself to even consider it, but later the next day, when he was sitting next to his father in the court, listening to the advisor’s bicker with each other, he considered it yet again. The Captain stood with his men, by the door to the hall, observing quietly. He noticed just how strong the Captain appeared, whispering quiet orders to his men and demanding respect from them in the silence.

La Forge couldn’t think of anything other than drawing sounds from the mouth of the stoic Captain, he would do anything to break his strong silence. He was so consumed with these thoughts that he was not aware of a maid by his side, quietly trying to speak with him. When he did notice her, he felt his face heat with embarrassment.

“Your Highness, your mother wishes to speak with you,” she whispered.

La Forge excused himself from the court, following the maiden out of the hall, oblivious to the eyes of a certain Captain at his back.

His mother, the Queen, was one of the strongest people he knew, second only to the Captain, but where the Captain had physical strength, his mother had the emotional stability of a stone wall. That was not to say that she lacked physical strength, as she was the primary teacher in La Forge’s sword combat lessons.

There was something to always be appreciated about the Queen and that was how she always managed to look elegant no matter what she was doing. La Forge found her down in the cellar, assisting the cooks in butchering chickens for the feast that evening.

“Geordi,” her face broke into the most brilliant smile, a sight that always brought comfort to La Forge.

“Mother, you know I despise when you call me that,” he smirked, moving to embrace his mother, allowing her to kiss his cheek.

“Oh, of course. I’m so sorry,” she spoke teasingly, before turning her attention back to the food they were prepping. “I asked for you, my love, because you are turning 25 years of age soon. I wish to discuss something of great importance.”

La Forge held back from sighing in annoyance, but he restrained himself. “Mother, if you’re speaking of marriage, you know how I feel about it.”

The Queen shook her head insistently. “No, I know. We’ve discussed your... _feelings_ about it,” she gave him a knowing look. His mother was his most trusted confidant and for that he was grateful, she knew about each of his special interests and had kept his secret, but she had warned him each time of the risks. However she remained faithful to him throughout. “I will not pressure you into something like that. But you do need to take up your studies again, you need to learn the diplomacy of the country, you need to understand the fundamentals of the court.”

Somehow this was more of a disruption to him than if she had spoken of marriage, he was irritated by trivial matters of the court, especially since it implied that he would be King, which would require his father to have a decline in health. He frowned and shuffled his feet.

“Now I know you’re going to argue about that too, but I’ve already made arrangements, you’re going to take up studies with Lord Thiers, he will teach you the basics of court matters and then I’ve also arranged for Captain Soong to help you learn the fundamentals of military politics.”

This was what caught La Forge’s attention, he immediately turned to look at his mother, his eyebrows raised. “Captain Soong agreed to this?”

“Oh, hush, I know your sister finds him intimidating, but I promise once you get to know him, you’ll find him an amiable companion. He’s not from our country you know, he had to be taught all of these things as well, you’ll learn just as he did. That’s why I selected him,” she sounded awfully pleased with herself, completely unaware of how her son was struggling to control her heartbeat. “And Lord Thiers is the only man of the court who seemed willing to help, you know the argumentative side of you makes it difficult for the other ministers to be able to tolerate you. It is with great pride that I claim that trait of yours as my own.”

“When will these... studies begin?”

“As soon as you are ready for them, I’ve already agreed that Lord Thiers will help you in the afternoons, but only every three days, he’s still quite busy. And the Captain is willing to work with you on your own time, whenever you are available, he said.”

La Forge nodded, trying to keep from letting his nerves show, he could not make it obvious that the Captain was his new special interest or else his mother might change her mind about letting him take lessons from the man. She would consider it improper and La Forge was not about to let this opportunity pass him by.

-

Over the following days, La Forge tried to focus on his classes with Lord Thiers, he did his best to listen to everything and try to commit it to memory. If he was honest with himself, he knew that he wasn’t going to be as diligent for Captain Soong, he knew he would have more of a struggle paying attention to him when he got distracted staring at his jawline.

These thoughts were present in his mind but he hadn’t considered them to be so serious until he was faced with the lessons themselves. There was a gazebo in the back of the castle grounds, it was here that he sat and waited for Captain Soong to join him. He knew he was early, but he had been too eager that he couldn’t wait.

He sat in his best robes, a piece of old paper before him, he dipped his quill in ink and traced over lines that he could see only in his mind. He was trying to keep an eye out for the Captain as the image that he was painting was one of the Captain himself, carrying that young boy out of the fire. It was the most vivid memory that La Forge could conjure at the moment.

So immersed in his drawing, he hadn’t heard the Captain approach behind him. He wished he had so he would have had time to cover his painting, but by the time he noticed him it was too late. He went to cover it with his hand but the Captain snatched up the artwork, holding it out of the Prince’s reach.

La Forge felt his throat tighten, too scared to look the Captain in the eye, he simply stared at the grass in the distance and prayed that he didn’t say anything too mortifying.

The Captain took a deep breath before he spoke. “You’ve made my nose too large.”

This was all he said about it, before moving to sit at the other end of the table that occupied the center of the gazebo. The Captain had left his armor at the castle, but he still wore his sword at his hip, wearing linen trousers and his canvas brigandine. He gestured towards the stack of books that La Forge had brought out with him.

“Have you read those?” he asked. He was not wearing any kind of helmet as he usually did, leaving his soft blonde locks to blow freely in the breeze, his face was fully visible for what La Forge thought might be the first time ever. He looked younger than he had originally thought him to be.

“A few of them,” La Forge replied, suddenly intent on pretending like he wasn’t gazing at the man.

“I see,” Captain Soong nodded shortly. He leaned back in his chair, the v-cut of his under tunic slipped down a little further, revealing the line of his ribcage in the middle of his chest. La Forge diverted his eyes as fast as possible, before the Captain caught it. He had embarrassed himself enough in front of this man.

Their first lesson went as painfully as it possibly could have, there were too many occasions that La Forge had been staring, or had stumbled over his words in a manner that was not at all princely. He wished he could go out to the fields, lie in the weeds and disappear forever. He would rather die than have to face this man and be reminded of how much a fool his... special interest made him.

But by the end of it, La Forge thought to the knowledge he’d just gained and it occurred to him that this man truly was very intelligent, he had learnt a great deal. Curiously he had not chosen to refer to any of the books that La Forge had read, it was almost as if he was assuring that he had read them just to prove that they were worthless.

“Shall I bring my books next time?” he asked.

The Captain seemed to hold back a snort of amusement, it was apparent in his eyes. “I shall leave that to your discretion, Your Highness.”

“Do you have intentions of referencing them?” La Forge asked, looking up at the Captain as he rose from his chair and bowed. “I see no need in bringing them if we are not to source them.”

The older man adhered the prince curiously for a moment. “I apologize, Your Highness, if you feel I have wasted your efforts. However I do not see the value of the books in question.”

“Do you not value the knowledge of others, Sir Soong?” La Forge had a smile that could only be described as cheeky. He was very good at this particular smile and he was well aware of it. “Are you that confident in your own wit?”

The Captain himself seemed to find the prince’s smile contagious and he grinned, albeit briefly. “I do not find value in nonsensical ants across a page.”

La Forge frowned for a moment, before realization dawned upon him. Oh, how obtuse of him. The Captain was not a native born Frenchman, reading in that language must be difficult for him. “Are you not fluent in reading French?”

The Captain let out a laugh that was not lacking in a bitter note. “Your Highness, I was never taught how to read. That is a luxury that is not granted to those born of a lower class, such as myself.”

La Forge opened his mouth and immediately closed it. He was devoid of a comment, he could not think of anything appropriate enough to communicate how ignorant he felt. He did not wish to embarrass himself further, but more than that, he was shocked that someone could seem educated and intelligent and not even know how to read. He knew it revealed his inner prejudice, but such a thing was hardly fathomable to him.

“I apologize, Captain,” he spoke carefully. He wanted to appear to be a fair prince, but after his apparent naivety he’d already revealed his true nature. He chewed on his lip. “I fear I have offended you.”

The Captain’s smile was lazy but not lacking in amusement, something about that expression on his face made a fiery heat start in the prince’s stomach. He did his best to ignore it, how much more of a fool would the Captain take him for if he showed physical arousal right now, especially after degrading him so.

“I assure you, Your Highness, the only fear you need is that you don’t take these lessons seriously. The longer they take, I’m afraid the more painful they will be for you.”

La Forge frowned slightly, he could feel the humor emanating from the Captain, as if he was granting permission to lower their formalities, to behave as if they were familiar with each other. It was exhilarating to think that he could be friendly with the Captain, it was everything La Forge had been waiting for. He wiped his palms on his trousers under the table.

“And why is that?” he leaned closer, his eyes narrowing playfully.

The Captain leaned in close, covering the distance between them in a matter of seconds, which made the Prince sweat. “Because, I’m a very unforgiving teacher. And I believe you’ll find, Your Highness,” he somehow got even closer and La Forge was sure that his cheeks were burning red by now. “I do not have any intention of going easy on you.”

That did it. There was definitely a heat building in his groin that spread up to his chest in fiery tendrils that twisted in his guts. He swallowed thickly and watched the Captain walk away in what could only be described as a saunter. There was something about the dimension of his shoulders to waist to hip ratio that had La Forge taking a deep breath and rubbing at his eyes with his palms.

-

The next lesson that they had was thankfully much smoother and La Forge spoke less, finding that that was the surest way to not embarrass himself. He did his best to keep his composure during their lessons and they went by much quicker and within a matter of two fortnights, La Forge found that preparations for his birthday party were already underway and he was almost completely well versed in the politics of war.

It was something his mother could not help but talk about excessively, she loved parties, especially when it gave her the chance to celebrate her children. His sister’s coming of age party had been one of the largest events that La Forge had ever witnessed, he still remembered the absolute headache he had the next day from how much champagne he had drunk.

He knew he was much older, but he was hoping that his mother would take a much more subtle approach to this party planning. But he was sure that would never happen, Silva La Forge would never accommodate his preference for the quiet and indirect. Not that she did not love and respect her son’s desires, but on occasion hers did outweigh his.

Ariana La Forge however was far more excited about her brother’s birthday party than he was, she raved for hours about how beautiful everyone was going to look and how he was going to find a dashing wife and she was going to have a sister. Her daily rants were something of an irritation to La Forge and he found it within him to begin avoiding her at all costs.

Everyone seemed inclined to talk about the party except for La Forge himself, even the person he least expected to talk about it managed to bring it up. The Captain, while sitting in the gazebo in the sun, going over what La Forge had learned so far, inquired about it in the most subtle manner he could manage.

“You are to be 25 soon, Your Highness?” he asked quietly, while staring at a leaf that he had plucked off the ground. He avoided looking at the Prince, who simply murmured his response. 

“Yes,” La Forge tried to focus on his chosen book once more, but he found curiosity won out in the end as usual. “Why do you ask, Sir Soong?”

“Simple curiosity, nothing more,” he smirked, his signature nature was impassive and reserved, with a hint of impish characteristics occasionally. “You are quite young. I envy that.”

“Sir?”

“I beg your pardon, Your Highness, simply the musings of an old Captain.”

“How old are you, Captain? Surely you are not that greater in age than myself.”

Sir Soong stopped to pretend to count, an old trick that middle aged people liked to play, but La Forge was not fooled. He could not have been that old, realistically.

“Ohh, I must be 34 now?”

“You say as if you do not know,” La Forge scoffed, not lacking amusement.

“Well there is some ambiguity, given that my parents died when I was a child, the people that raised me could only guess as to when I was born,” he spoke quietly, not forlorn, simply blasé about the matter. “So I can only assume I am 34.”

La Forge looked down at the table, pressing his fingers into the grain of the wood that so carefully constructed the gazebo. “Captain,” he spoke hesitantly, unsure if this would be overstepping unspoken boundaries. “Is there a particular reason you do not speak to me?”

“Your Highness?” The Captain’s eyebrows raised, confusion painting his features. “Are we not speaking right now?”

“I don’t mean like that... we speak about these things,” he gestured down at the books on the table before him. “We speak about politics and we vaguely reference other topics, but only during our lessons. You have been on my father’s guard for almost ten years now, I have watched you from afar for the better part of those years, and yet... you only spoke to me when my mother made it a task.”

The Captain shifted in his seat, nerves building beneath his skin, making it feel impossible to sit still. The Prince’s words ran through his mind, eating at his inhibitions, slowly melting his self restraint.

“Your Highness-”

“Are you put off by me?” La Forge asked, lifting his head to meet the Captain’s gaze, finding a fiery blaze in the man’s eyes, something he had not prepared for. He felt an intensity radiating from the man and the hairs on his forearms spiked and sent a tickle across La Forge’s skin.

“Not at all, Your Highness. I... am not the kind of man you should keep company with, with all due respect, outside of these lessons I do not believe it would be appropriate given my past.”

“My father does not speak of your life before you set foot inside the castle. I know nothing of your past and if you do not live it anymore, why should it matter?”

Sir Soong moved slowly, reminding the Prince of a deer that he would try his best not to spook while on a hunt, his every move was calculated and carefully executed. He seemed to be afraid that any misplaced action could be viewed as treason and the Prince would have him beheaded.

“Your Highness,” his voice was thick and weighted, he seemed to feel every word he was saying in his stomach. “I am tasked with the protection of you and your family. Surely, you must realize that this puts me in a position of a sensitive nature. I cannot do anything to risk your security.”

“Why would making a friend risk my security?”

The Captain froze. His lips parted into an ‘o’ shape and his eyes softened in surprise. “A...friend?”

La Forge chuckled. “Surely you have those,” he glanced down at his hands and then back up at the Captain. He was not as amused. “ _Oh_.”

The Prince found more and more reasons to be surprised by the Captain, he could not read, he was an orphan and he did not have friends. These were all things that of course had logical explanations and made sense, but they were not things that La Forge expected. To someone as naive as the Prince, terrible things could not have happened to beautiful people.

He squeezed his hands together, wringing them tightly as he carefully met Sir Soong’s eyes. “I apologize, Captain. I appear to have made a fool of myself yet again.”

For one heart wrenching moment, Soong reached out to still La Forge’s hands, to reassure him that there were no hard feelings over his careless speaking. But he stopped himself before he could make contact, his hand hovering over the Prince’s, their skin tingled with the close proximity. Suddenly in that second, La Forge realized how desperately he wanted the Captain to touch him, how badly he wanted to be touched and to touch in return, it consumed him.

He had never touched the Captain in all the years that he had commanded the castle guards. In fact, thinking on it, La Forge could not think of a single time that he had ever seen anyone touch the Captain, save when he had rescued that boy from the stable fire.

Every inch of him desired to place his hands on the Captain’s pale skin, to feel the muscle beneath his tunic, to feel the shift of the tendons in his forearms. To feel the heat where the sun had burned his neck, to feel the strength that had granted him his position, to feel the composure that kept him in control of his emotions at all times. To La Forge, he held the force of the ocean inside of him, holding beautiful unknown and capable of destruction beyond even the most creative imagination.

The Prince unleashed the breath he had been holding, feeling it shake in his throat as the Captain rose from his seat. He avoided meeting his eye, afraid of what he might see there, afraid it would reflect what he himself was trying to hide.

  
-

Parties were not La Forge’s preferred socialization, he would much rather walk the streets of the town and greet the people in person, or to join his father’s hunting parties. This kind of extravagant ball was not at all something he enjoyed, so he did his best to isolate himself in the corner of the ballroom. He sat by his mother, sipping his wine and begging the young women to not come and attempt to convince him to chat with them.

His pantaloons and petticoat were a matching powder blue silk, with ivory and gold detailing across the hems. Ivory lace provided for ruffs at the bottom of his sleeves, and pant legs, the color matching the tights that he wore underneath his pants. His black leather shoes were adorned with a large gold buckle. His mother had carefully selected his outfit herself, as she wanted him to look his best.

Lounging in the throne that was designated for him was no longer interesting and he decided to make his way around the room, until he came to a stop by a servant who was carrying a tray of drinks. He hovered by the man, before smiling gently at him and taking two of the glasses. The servant bowed low and thankfully did not question the quantity La Forge had claimed.

He assumed a nonchalance that he hoped suggested he was comfortable, it would not suit a Prince to display a lack of nerves at this moment. However being surrounded by a crowd of people was not at all something that he enjoyed, therefore he felt uneasy.

He needed something to calm him down, he needed the presence of someone that was not going to fawn over him and celebrate him for his age, which was one of the most ridiculous things in his mind. He needed... Soong. He needed the Captain’s lack of energy, someone who wasn’t going to overwhelm him.

Scanning the sea of noblemen and women, the Prince searched desperately for his beloved Captain, his eyes searched desperately, the anxiety he was gaining from the crowd made his search more frantic. He felt his skin tingle with his desire to be close to the Captain.

When he finally spotted the man, he felt relief spread throughout his body, until he realized the look on his face, then he froze. The Captain’s expression was alert and determined, he was scanning the crowd carefully, pushing his way through people in a way that suggested he was looking for something specific.

La Forge reacted accordingly, his eyes widened and he began scanning his surroundings, if the Captain was worried then surely he should be too. He observed the people around him, but none of them seemed questionable. That was until someone approached the Prince from behind, their arm circling his neck and hauling his body against theirs, a knife blade pressing against his throat.

His entire body went rigid, fear filling every part of his body. Scattered screams came from the patrons surrounding him, drawing the Captain’s attention. He was standing in front of the Prince in a split second, having found his way through the crowd, sword drawn. La Forge maintained eye contact with the Captain, knowing that it would save his nerves.

“Let the Prince go,” he commanded in a stern tone.

A man’s voice from behind La Forge chuckled bitterly. “The king let my boy die of starvation because of his tax laws, don’t you think he deserves the same fate? To lose his only son?”

The Captain stirred where he stood, his sword drifting back and forth as if he was questioning where would be the best place to strike. His eyes were narrowed as he observed the man before him, contemplating his options. Strike out and risk the Prince’s life, or wait for reinforcements.

“Don’t even think about it,” the man spoke. “I’ll kill the Prince. I’m not scared to die.”

“The king was not the cause of your son's death, Mr. Brodeur,” the Captain seemed to know the man from the village. “Artus was already sick, you know this. Don’t be a fool.”

The man shook his head violently, La Forge could feel it against his temple. “He wouldn’t have gotten that sick if we could afford food.”

The Captain sneered, a look that the Prince had never seen on him. “You would be able to afford food, if you hadn’t spent your last coin on women and alcohol.” As he said this the Captain seemed to come to a decision on where his sword would land.

He struck out with his sword, slicing at the man’s arm that was around the Prince’s throat, his arm shot out in shock, dropping his knife. That action gave the Captain the window he was looking for, his sword striking out, just over La Forge’s shoulder and stabbing the man in the shoulder. 

It was very short lived, but the adrenaline running through the Prince’s body left a tingle that ran from his neck all the way down his spine to his toes. The fear that accompanied it left him paralyzed, staring straight ahead as guards came to grab said Mr. Broduer, pulling him away from the young Prince.

The Captain stepped forwards, leaning close and looking curiously at the Prince. His eyes were narrowed. Within moments, the Queen and King were encircling the Prince, holding him close and cooing over him, the King assuring him that the traitor would not see the morning. His words passed over La Forge’s mind, his eyes focused on the Captain, who was taking deep heavy breaths that made his chest heave in a way that he could not look away from.

“Would you escort my son back to his chambers?” the King asked, to which the Captain bowed low in response. 

“Please, Mother, do not stop the party. I am fine,” La Forge requested. His mother knew he had not been enjoying the party anyways, so she simply nodded in agreement. After all, his safety was far more important.

The Prince held his tongue as the Captain led him away, somehow managing to lead the Prince without touching him, just the look he gave him told him when it was time to leave. He walked towards his chambers, knowing the entire time that the Captain was behind him, his thoughts were racing in his mind, mostly about how he had just had a legitimate brush with death. But also... the Captain was coming to his room.

As they walked back to his chambers, no words were exchanged, but as soon as they entered the Prince’s room, the Captain paused to lean against the door. “Are you alright, Your Highness?” he asked.

The Prince paused, staring at the bed in the center of the room, the velvet curtains that surrounded it in a canopy seemed so irrelevant considering that someone had just made an attempt on his life. Hiding in his bed seemed like the last of his worries and yet he still felt grateful for them, should anyone find him in the morning.

He stood in the center of his chamber, observing the tranquil scene of his bed and his nightstand, the silence in the room washing over him, before he became painfully aware of the Captain still standing behind him. Now that he was aware of the situation, he felt a brief flash of nerves, that caused him to rub his palms along the outside of his petticoat. Sweat was building on the back of his neck.

The Captain resisted running out of the room, for fear of offending the Crown Prince, standard etiquette suggested he wait to be dismissed, but more than that, he curiously watched the Prince fidget in place before settling on a course of action. The nature of said action was one that increased the Captain's desire to flee.

The Prince reached up to his collar and unbuttoned his petticoat, letting it fall to the ground, the silk blue pooling at his feet. He slid his pantaloons off of his body, exposing where his tights were stretched over his bare ass. He kicked off his shoes, before he turned to face the Captain, wearing just his lace up tunic and his tights.

“My maid is not here, I am afraid, and I desire to go straight to sleep. Would you assist me, Sir Soong?”

The Captain stared at him incredulously, at first it seemed he questioned the sincerity of the request, but he did not need long to be convinced, before he stepped forwards and began unlacing the Prince’s blouse. This was exactly what La Forge had been waiting for, an excuse to get the Captain close to him.

He still managed to unlace the Prince’s tunic without ever touching his skin, a skill that La Forge considered incredibly impressive. His fingers did not so much as graze his skin, which encouraged the Prince in feeling like he was losing his mind. So much was his desire for the Captain to touch him, that he was willing to do anything.

It was almost amusing to him, even after almost being killed, he still desired the Captain so deeply that it seemed to take precedent to the situation he found himself in. He shed his tunic so easily as soon as the Captain had loosened it. For a brief moment, the lack of response from the Captain made him wonder if his desire was even reciprocated.

But then the Captain scanned the rest of his body, his cock barely restrained in his tights and his chest heaving with the weight of his desire. He registered the look in his eyes as an intense want, something similar to what the Prince himself felt. He wondered if it was possible to go insane with want.

He allowed the Captain to observe him in just his tights for a moment before he slid them down his thighs, leaving them on the ground beneath him. He stepped away from the heap of his clothes on the floor, his eyes resting on the Captain as he stood in front of him, completely naked. He was entirely unashamed, too.

* * *

  
The Captain shifted where he was standing, his eyes seeming to go everywhere except for on the Prince’s body. He seemed determined to completely avoid staring at the naked man before him. There was a nervous air between them, La Forge doing his best to maintain his composure, he wasn’t sure what he would do if the Captain rejected him now.

He stared intensely at the Captain, long enough to encourage him to move from his place where he was completely still. He bristled in place before moving in circles around the Prince's room, pacing and considering the options that were presented to him. On the one hand, he could leave and do nothing. On the other, he could acknowledge the straining cock that the Prince presented to him and he could do something about it.

It was almost laughable, seeing this strong man who could control an army with a wave of his hand, watching his resolve slowly crumble, turning to ash in his palms. He reached out and touched the tassels on the edge of the curtain that veiled the Prince’s bed, he rubbed the velvet between the pads of his fingers, feeling it cringe.

He took a deep breath, the velvet felt damp under his fingertips and he realized it was from the sweat that was building on his palms. _Congrats, Noonien, you’re going to make a fool of yourself in front of the Prince._ He turned to face His Royal Highness, Prince Geordi La Forge, resident eye candy and the object of all of Noonien’s attention recently.

“Captain...” the Prince spoke carefully, his breath was heavy, strained as if he was holding himself back. “Do you not think of me? Have I never appeared in your thoughts?”

The Captain’s entire body straightened, his hands came to rest at his sides, clenched into fists so tight that he felt his nails press into his palms. He inhaled, his heart pounding in his chest. “Your Highness,” his voice was tight in his throat, making him nauseous for a moment. “Permission to speak familiarly?”

“I implore you to.”

“Were I a stronger man, I would not have.. But I’m afraid I have not had the ability to keep you out of my thoughts, Your Highness.”

“What do you think of?”

“Your Highness?”

“How do you think of me, Sir Soong?”

“I...” Noonien licked his lips. The Prince reached out his hand to place his palm on the bedpost, sliding it down and then back up, his fingers flexing as he gripped the aged wood. The Captain swallowed, his voice was much quieter. “I think of you like this, I think of your body underneath mine, laid across this bed. I think of... I dream of feeling your skin, all that warmth and smooth perfection... it seems a sin to go unexplored.”

La Forge seemed to lose his strength, his body giving up trying to resist the weight in his chest and he allowed his shaking knees to bend, lowering him to sit on the bed. He moved so that he was facing the Captain, who was still standing at attention, looking for all the world like the soldier he was sworn to be.

“You are devoted to the throne, Captain?”

“Heart and soul, Your Highness.”

“And body?”

“Oh,” the Captain allowed himself one of his signature smiles, sly, yet missing his usual confidence. “Especially that, Your Highness.”

“And you will do as you are told by the Royal Family, no matter the circumstances.”

“I am yours.. Every part of me is yours.”

This was it, the breaking point. It was now that all inhibitions faded, the tether inside of the Captain holding him back frayed and snapped, he blinked, time slowing in front of him. The Prince scooted further back, spreading his knees apart, propping his palms behind him, gazing at the Captain with doe eyes and full eyelashes.

“Come here, Captain.”

He lived for the Royal Family, who was he to question?

Soong covered the two steps between them in one stride, dropping down onto his knees in front of the Prince, his eyes were glued to his face and his lips parted for his tongue to slip out, wetting his bottom lip. His hands - though trembling - moved to lay on either side of the Prince’s. He wanted desperately to hold the glorious thighs in front of him, to feel the dark hair that spread from the Prince’s groin up his stomach under his tongue.

“Why do others not touch you?”

The Captain blinked at the younger man, his mind racing. “I was not aware you had taken notice. I suppose I am afraid.”

“That you will be hurt?”

“No. That I will enjoy it too much.”

The Prince blessed him with the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. “Oh, I’m counting on it... very much so.”

He reached out and grasped the Captain’s wrists, something devilish inside of him relished in finally touching the man’s skin. It was cooler than he had been expecting, but it was slightly calloused from years of hard work, the hair on his arms was soft under the Prince’s thumbs. He tugged his wrists to his thighs, closing his eyes, focusing all of his senses on the feeling of the Captain’s hands covering the tops of his thighs.

It would have been premature to moan, so La Forge bit his lip, holding the sound in as the Captain’s rough hands spread across his thighs, stroking gently. He did not take this task lightly, his thumbs pressing into the soft skin, rubbing the flesh with a slight wonder in his eyes.

La Forge’s body had a mind of its own and his hips thrusted upwards, urging the Captain’s fingers deeper into his thighs. Watching the Prince’s cock stretch up into the air pulled a noise from Soong’s throat, the head was pulsing with need and it made the older man’s mouth fill with saliva. He had never physically felt a thirst for another human before now.

“Please Captain, we only have so much time before your presence will be requested again.”

The realization of their required urgency put the Captain in motion, he stood up and immediately removed his brigandine and his belted sheath. The Prince sat back and watched him completely undress himself until he was standing before him, taut muscles and pale skin drawing the Prince’s eyes up and down his lean body.

“With haste, Your Highness,” the Captain moved to the decanter by the Prince’s wash basin, he selected the oil that he used to tend to his dry skin and he poured some onto his two finger tips and set the decanter back down. He turned to look at the Prince who swallowed thickly.

He came closer and reached out a hand to push the Prince down flat on his back, his other hand reaching down to rub at the Prince’s hole, earning a soft whimper. He moved his finger in circles, warming up the entrance before he slipped a finger inside, surprised how the man’s body enveloped his finger so quickly.

“Your Highness,” he breathed incredulously. “Have you been pleasuring yourself?”

The Prince flushed and turned to hide his face in the blankets, a whimper escaped his lips and he rolled his hips downwards, in an attempt to encourage Sir Soong to press deeper inside of him. “Yes, _god_ , yes. Please.”

Soong could not restrain himself any longer, he thrust his fingers into the Prince and rubbed at his insides, the warmth of his body drawing them further in. While his one hand was at work, he focused on using the other to rub at the Prince’s chest and stomach, his fingernails scratching lightly at the skin there, earning him more moans.

His mouth felt unused and he endeavoured to change that, bending his head down to lap gently at the tip of La Forge’s cock, drawing a bright gasp from the man. He swirled his tongue in tender circles at the very tip, before leaning further down and enveloping the head in his mouth. His lips tightened slightly at the base of the head, holding him still, his tongue rubbing incessantly at the slit.

The Prince whimpered beneath him, his body squirming. When the Captain pulled away, satisfied that the Prince was fully prepared for him, he reached under his thighs and pushed and shoved until he was lying completely on the bed, allowing for the Captain to cover his body with his own. They now lay chest to chest, their legs tangled beneath them. He breathed heavily, feeling the hair on his chest rub against the Prince’s, the sensation drawing goosebumps on his arms.

“I cannot wait, Sir Soong,” he panted, his fingers moving to dig into the Captain’s biceps. “Make love to me. _Now_.”

“I have every intention of granting your wish, Your Highness, but first... may I kiss you?”

La Forge’s eyes narrowed, his lashes pressing into his cheekbones. He took a deep breath and then nodded slowly. “Yes.”

It was but a moment of silence before the Captain connected their lips, his own were thin and dry and the Prince’s were thick and soft and he gasped into the kiss. He kissed like he knew exactly how to pleasure the Captain, like he had done it a thousand times, like he knew what he would ask for, how he would beg him, how he would touch him. He kissed like he was a part of him.

Nothing had brought the Captain more bliss than this moment and he squeezed his eyes shut, relishing the feeling, the sensations that were beginning in his toes and spreading up his calves, burning under his skin and lighting up his spine with a fire that he had never known. He felt as if they were one, he felt as if La Forge held all of the answers to his uncertainties, as if he had everything in his palm that Noonien had so desperately searched for.

And he did.

Memory by memory, Noonien remembered how to love the Prince, he remembered how he had done it in the past, he remembered how to be a part of him, how to touch him, he remembered the thousands of nights they had spent close to one another. He remembered Geordi. Just as he is, every part of him, inside and out, but he remembered him through a different pair of eyes that were still somehow his own.

He sighed into his mouth as he pulled away, his eyes widening as he took in his lover and life mate, he examined every inch of his face. Geordi turned and buried his face into Noonien’s neck, heaving a sigh as he gripped his arms tighter. 

“Noonien.. My love,” he shuddered. “I need you, please. I can’t wait.”

Noonien would never refuse the second half of his heart something that he needed, especially not this.

He reached down and spread the man’s thighs apart, moving to situate his hips in between them, he grasped his own cock and directed the head at Geordi’s entrance. His hands rubbed the outside of Geordi’s hip, easing his desperation, stilling him as he pressed into him. They both sighed as Noonien entered him.

The friction between their bodies created heat that had them both panting for breath as they moved together, sweat building on their skin and creating a slick between them, their legs sliding together with ease. Years of memories and love drove them to move faster, the thrill of reunion urging their passion and increasing the feelings deep in their bodies.

The strength that Noonien gained during his years in combat training gave him an impressive stamina that brought whimpers and moans out of Geordi’s throat with every thrust. They did not rush, the urgency they had begun with was long lost in the way that Noonien breathed Geordi’s name, forgotten in the roll of Geordi’s hips. But it was filthy and with an abandon that they thought they had lost in their youth.

“I’m so close, Noonien,” Geordi panted, his fingernails scraping down the Captain’s bicep, as his leg wrapped around his waist, his heel digging into his ass to pull him closer.

Noonien obliged the declaration by putting the last bit of strength he had left into thrusting into Geordi, reaching his climax and spilling into the man beneath him. He pressed his face just under Geordi’s jaw, his teeth scraping at the skin there, knowing this was a sensitive spot. That was all Geordi needed to finish, a soft cry escaping his lips as his hips lifted to meet Noonien’s last thrust.

* * *

Their bodies spent and sticky, they collapsed down into the bed, Geordi tucked under Noonien’s arm, his face resting on the Captain’s chest. He curled into his lover, staring up at him. “I don’t think I will ever tire of this,” he whispered against his collarbone.

Noonien smirked, looking down at the Prince. “I will certainly never lose my fondness for you or your... breathtaking features,” he sighed heavily, his eyes running down Geordi’s body and back up. He moved so that his one hand was resting on Geordi’s back, his thumb rubbing circles into his spine and his other hand tangled with Geordi’s, holding their hands close to his chest.

“What shall we do now, my love? Wait for the Q?”

“I think he will make himself known to us in due time, for now, we should enjoy this stolen moment. I will have to rejoin the party soon.”

The Prince stretched up to gently kiss his lover, their lips sliding together with an ancient ease. “I believe I can convince my mother to allow me to take my lessons somewhere more private than the gazebo from now on.”

Noonien chuckled, kissing his forehead, before he leaned his head back and shut his eyes. He would rest for a moment, Geordi would be there when he woke, he always was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Admittedly I don't know what much about Renaissance era France so this is riddled with inaccuracies, starting with Louis XIV being King, but we'll just say that Q took a bit of creative licensing when it came to their lives :)
> 
> As always you can find me on tumblr subliminalheadspace.tumblr.com (Feel free to come yell at me about this)  
> Thank you for reading, please leave me your thoughts!  
> I hope you're all staying safe and healthy during this quarantine, I'm sending my love and strength to you all through this fic <3


	4. 2364, Farpoint Space Station / 2364, USS Hood (MU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So !! This chapter is a little weird, I'll warn you now. It takes place in 2364, the year that Data and Geordi met and it contains both their first meeting in the Canon Universe and their first meeting in a Mirror Universe that I've created. I'll expand more on this Mirror Universe in a later chapter, but this is all you'll get for now. There's no getting together in this chapter and also there's the mention of Tasha Yar's death, so bear with me for that. <3 Please enjoy!
> 
> I also bullshitted my way through a lot of technobabble in this chapter, I warn you now it doesn't make sense, but I had a lot of fun with it lol  
> And in case it's not already apparent:  
> Regular: Canon Universe  
> Bold: Mirror Universe

**2364, Farpoint Space Station**

The USS _ Enterprise-D _ was Geordi’s newest assignment. He was filled with nerves, the USS  _ Hood  _ was a much smaller class ship and even that had seemed large when he first started. His one small comfort was that he was already familiar with the first officer, who was Commander Riker, whom he had served with aboard the  _ Hood _ .

He straightened his uniform, reaching for his discarded PADD. He left the temporary quarters that had been assigned to him here at Farpoint Station. As he walked, he reviewed the crew manifest, scanning for any other names he was familiar with. Of course, Captain Jean-Luc Picad was very well known throughout Starfleet, but there were a few others that he had heard about in passing.

One name gave him pause. Lt. Commander Data. The android was commonly talked about throughout Starfleet Academy. He had graduated 8 years before Geordi even began his studies, yet he was still a hot issue among the cadets. Geordi had been curious about the concept of artificial life for many years, but he had never considered that he would get to meet the Lt. Commander in person.

Images of what the man would be like flashed through his head. He first imagined something like a large tin man, like he had read about in comic books when he was young, he wondered if he would just be a large alloy shape to him.

When Geordi beamed aboard the Enterprise with the rest of the crew who had been waiting, he was enthusiastic about the concentric corridors, the computer panels on the side of the walls pulsed with energy through Geordi’s VISOR and he reached out to gently touch one as they passed by.

He had been instructed to go to his quarters to freshen up before reporting to Sick Bay to be inputted to the ship’s medical records by the CMO. He did just that, stopping to run some cool water over his face before he made his way through the corridors, towards Sick Bay. Warm throbbing bodies passed by him, their hearts beat vibrantly inside their chests, sometimes more than one heartbeat or a very irregular respiratory system would catch Geordi’s attention.

It wasn’t until he passed by one body that had none of these components, there was no heartbeat, no respiratory system, no organs to note of any kind, instead they were just a glowing figure. It was strangely beautiful and Geordi looked after them even as he was well past them. He shook his head wondering if he imagined it or if he had just seen some kind of... well if he didn’t know better he’d say it was magic.

The doctor was very polite and Geordi was sure that he was going to like her quite a lot, even if she did ask the exact same questions everyone had asked about his VISOR. He was quite sick of repeating himself, but it was necessary for Dr. Crusher to be fully informed about all of her patients and this he understood.

Making his way back from Sickbay to the turbolift, he slipped in and requested Deck 18, where his quarters were. The lights that lined the turbolift fluctuated as it moved up 6 decks, before stopping at 18. He stopped in at his quarters, washed his face, made sure that he was not shaking with nerves and headed towards the Main Bridge to report for duty.

If he was not as wise as he was, he would not be this nervous, but he was the conn officer of the best ship in the Alpha Quadrant. The most advanced piece of technology that Starfleet has ever put out to date, and it was all vibrating directly beneath his feet. He was making his mother proud, he was carrying on the name La Forge in Starfleet and he was going to do everything he could to make sure he left an impact on this ship.

Even if he was just at the conn.

The Bridge felt much bigger than he had anticipated, from what he could tell the layout was designed for optimal performance, everyone had enough room to complete their duties without bumping elbows. Far different from  _ The Hood _ , where you were lucky if you could arm the photon torpedo banks without your knee knocking against someone’s shoulder from the lower levels.

Here it was all one level, which was much easier for Geordi when in a rush, there were no surprise steps to trip over on your first day. The ground was smooth and polite on his arches, which was more of a relief than anything as he made his way over to the conn seat. He ran his hand over the back of the seat that was to be his.

The bead of sweat that was trickling down the back of his neck found its way further into his uniform until it met the hand that brushed the middle of his back. He shivered and turned to meet the gaze of a smiling woman in a gold operations uniform.

“Welcome aboard, Mr. LaForge. Lieutenant Yar, I’m head of security. I’ve read a great deal about you.”

“Thank you, sir,” Geordi nodded, reaching out to shake the woman’s hand. “I figure studying your bridge crew comes with being in security.”

She chuckled and nodded almost sheepishly. “You can drop the sir, Lieutenant. We’re the same rank. Just Tasha is fine.”

He couldn’t resist returning her no doubt dazzling smile. Just her tone of voice made him feel like she was trustworthy. She waved her hand over towards the conn. “Take a seat, you can never break a chair in too early.”

Geordi chuckled but obliged. He slid into the chair, surprised by how soft it was. A brand new ship meant brand new seat cushions that hadn’t been worn down yet and he was beyond grateful for that. The presence of someone replacing the Ensign in the seat next to him made Geordi look up.

Through his VISOR his vision was filled with that same vaguely glowing figure, he felt at a loss for words as he examined the readings he was getting. He tried to focus on just one frequency to examine them, but there were so many that he couldn’t pin down just one.

“Hello, Lieutenant...?” a soft voice brought his attention to the face. The features were not defined but there was a structure that was clear to him, it was smooth and narrow and there was something to be admired aesthetically about the face. Their hair was visibly dark and skin shockingly pale.

“La Forge. Geordi La Forge.”

“Ah. I am Lt. Commander Data.”

“Oh!” Geordi chuckled suddenly. “Of course. Sorry, Commander. I knew you were a member of the ship’s complement but I just... I’ve never seen an android before.”

Data nodded. Geordi prepared himself for the expected question about his VISOR, he was used to it being one of the first things people pointed out about him. Yet somehow it never came, much to his own surprise. Instead Data simply cocked his head curiously and turned his chair to face Geordi, giving him his full attention.

“La Forge?” Geordi could not tell but his eyes were darting back and forth as he spoke. “Your mother is Captain of the  _ USS Hera _ . You served on the  _ USS Hood _ before this and the  _ USS Victory _ before that. Your father is an exozoologist and your sister Ariana is-”

“Slow down,” Geordi laughed. “Nice to meet you too. But maybe buy me dinner before you uncover all of my tragic backstory.”

He hadn’t meant it like that. His cheeks warmed as he watched Data’s head tick to the side, reminding him much of his uncle’s sheep dog that he had met when he was 7 years old. It was a behavioral quirk that Geordi took note of; Geordi embarrassingly spoke before thinking, Data tilted his head.

“I simply accessed your file... is that inappropriate?”

“It could just be considered a little impersonal. You know, it’s nice to learn things about people by asking them about it.”

Data nodded slowly, coming to understand his small blunder. “I apologize for being too forward.”

Geordi couldn’t help but snort. He told Data to buy him dinner and the Commander was the one apologizing for being too forward. It was amusing to say the least. “Hey, don’t worry about it. You live and you learn.”

“Indeed,” Data spoke carefully, spinning back to face his console, inputting a few commands, before his head tipped towards Geordi a little bit. “What is your mother’s chosen career, Lt. La Forge?”

_ Well, that’s kinda cute, I guess. _ Geordi thought to himself, while letting a beaming grin take over his face. “My whole family is Starfleet, I was born into Starfleet and I’ll probably die in Starfleet. Actually I-”

“Captain on the Bridge!”

Geordi and Data both separated themselves from their consoles, unplanned they met gazes and Geordi gave Data a little smile, which the android returned with a nod. Despite just having met Tasha and Data, Geordi felt like maybe he had found the beginnings of precious friendships.

  * -



“Data has become obsessed with the concept of Sherlock Holmes!” Tasha laughed, wrapping both of her hands around the glass in front of her. She chuckled to herself almost, despite sitting with Geordi at the bar in Ten Forward. Guinan was minding her business, but they knew that she always had an ear trained to catch conversation from anyone sitting at the bar.

“It’s kind of cute, isn’t it?” Geordi smirked, unthinking before he spoke. Yet again, he felt a slight fear that he was making a fool of himself.

Thankfully, he knew that Tasha would never judge him for these sorts of comments. She was something of a kindred spirit to him. Within the first few weeks of the Enterprise leaving the docking bay, they had discovered that they had a lot in common, starting with them both being a little smitten with the Counselor Troi. it was clear to them that Commander Riker had some sort of history with her, making her - as Tasha phrased it - ‘off limits’.

“It’s not right to go after the First Officer’s lady,” she had muttered to Geordi one time, earning a laugh from him.

Out of all of the activities that were becoming routine for him on the Enterprise, between bridge duty, away teams, fencing classes and the occasional chess tournament, he found that one of his favorites were when he’d grab a drink with Tasha at the end of their shifts. She always just wanted to talk about anything and everything and she always listened when he felt the same way.

As they were both the same rank, she treated him like an equal and she never once acted as if his disability got in the way of his work. She was comfortable for him to hang around and for this he was eternally grateful. But most importantly, she was unbothered by how awkward he could be or how difficult it was for him to filter what he said.

In this current instance, instead of teasing him or pointing out what he said with disdain as some of the other officers would have done, she simply nodded in agreement. “Definitely cute.”

“Although I can’t say the ‘indubitably’ hasn’t gotten a little old. He called Worf ‘old chap’ the other day, I thought Riker was going to bite his tongue off from trying not to laugh.”

She giggled and leaned forwards so she could place her chin into the palm of her hand, her fingers curling to cover her lips. She turned her head to look at Geordi, but something behind him caught her attention and she quickly turned back to hide her staring. “Time to change the subject,” her voice was full of amusement and Geordi wondered what kind of funny little smile she had on behind her hand.

“You noticed that Ensign T’Su gets really nervous whenever Crewman Giddings is around?” Geordi said quickly, trying to find something suitable to talk about that was not Data, curious as to why Tasha was so quick to change it. 

“She totally does!” Tasha agreed with glee. “Giddings is a nice girl and all, but T’Su’s little crush is getting out of hand. She needs to say something before she embarrasses herself more.”

“Hello, Lieutenants.”

Data’s greeting was not nearly as startling as it could have been, given Tasha’s immediate insistence on changing the subject, Geordi’s guess was that Data was fast approaching. However he was not expecting Data to beeline for them and stand behind them expectantly, as if waiting to be invited to sit down.

After what he had just confessed, Geordi glanced at Tasha in a panic, he knew that she was far more socially friendly than him and she took much more kindly to the other officers, whereas Geordi had really spent most of his time with her so far.

“Come sit down, Data!” she encouraged, scooting over in her stool to free up the seat next to Geordi, right in between them.

The Lt. Commander was all too pleased to settle into the stool, his back straight in a perfect example of ‘good posture’ as it always was. He seemed quite eager to participate in their conversation, most likely having just finished his own shift. “What are you discussing?”

“Ensign T’Su has a crush on Crewman Giddings,” Tasha offered, pleased with herself for successfully spreading gossip. Geordi wondered if that was for sure synthohol that she was drinking.

Data blinked at her. “I have not heard her make this declaration.”

“Well, she didn’t... but she didn’t have to.”

The android’s eyebrows slowly knitted together, coming down to form a frown. “I do not understand. How would you know of her affections if she has not spoken of them herself?”

The two lieutenants shared a brief glance, before Geordi shrugged. “You can kinda just tell, Data. It’s all about the behavior.”

“What behavior?”   
  


“ _ Her  _ behavior,” Tasha explained. She guzzled down the rest of her drink before leaning forwards to dive into her presentation of humanoid body language. “See, with girls like T’Su, she’s fairly innocent normally, and she blushes easily. Whenever Giddings and her are in the same room, T’Su acts nervous, she becomes sort of erratic and she gets super giggly too. She laughs way too much around her. And she always pays full attention to Giddings when she’s talking, like an intense amount of attention.”

Data was frowning more and more as Tasha spoke. “But... is that not how you two behave around me?”

Geordi coughed, almost choking on his own tongue while Tasha cleared her throat loudly. They had not been prepared for that. They exchanged another look, surely Data would pick up on that by now. The amount of times that they would look at each other behind his back, or occasionally in front of him, in an attempt to clandestinely communicate how taken by his quirks they were.

“Well, it’s different, Data,” Geordi said, matter-of-factly. He received an agreeable nod from Tasha.

“How?”

“Uhm,” Geordi looked to Tasha.  _ It’s your turn _ , he communicated silently.

“Well, T’su likes Giddings.”

“I see,” Data sounded discouraged. “So you do not like me.”

_ Shit. _ The panic that was struck deep in the Lieutenants was obvious only to Guinan, who coughed from where she was standing as she stacked her glasses in the corner of the bar area.

“No! We do, it’s just... in a different way. A friend way.”

This seemed to lift the android’s spirits. “We are friends?” he asked, with a modicum of hope that was soul crushing to both Tasha and Geordi. Why was this not normal for him?

“Of course we are,” Tasha patted him on the arm. “We all are.”

Data looked between Tasha and Geordi, the spark of excitement in his eye made both of them feel like their guts were in knots. “I am grateful that you both have chosen to be friends with me,” he sounded much too much like a young child who did not have friends growing up. 

As Data slid from his stool, looking awfully proud of himself, before making his way out of Ten Forward, Tasha and Geordi turned to face each other. They both had burning blushes on their cheeks and were slightly confused about what had just happened. They laughed, embarrassed by how foolish they felt. It was all they could do to keep from thinking about it.

  * -



**2364, USS Hood**

**_Mirror Universe_ **

**Embers sparked off of the console, spraying into the air. The ensign seated by that panel flinched and ducked. Geordi went to grasp her by the shoulders, hauling her away from the malfunctioning console.**

**“LaForge to Bridge, we got a problem here Captain!” He shouted, shielding his face from the sparks.**

**“Go ahead, Commander,” came the reply, it was slightly garbled, suggesting that their communications system might also be facing damage. But Captain DeSoto’s voice still came through.**

**“The theta-matrix compositor was damaged, which corrupted our dilithium, we’re gonna lose warp capabilities in about ten minutes! We can’t take another hit like that again sir!”**

**“Understood. Will, begin evasive maneuvers, let’s see if we can’t shake them out of their patterns. Geordi, give us more power to the photon torpedoes!”**

**“I’ll do what I can, sir. Engineering out,” Geordi tapped his combadge and set to work transferring power from the warp engine to the photons. The power transfer conduit was spitting electrical sparks that would shock him if he got too near, so he had to settle to accomplish this on the master systems display.**

**Power transferred, he started to make his way towards the matter/antimatter reactor, to clear the ensigns and lieutenants from that area. The ship must have been shot again, because it lurched and knocked a few of them off of their feet, including Geordi, his hands shooting out to grab onto the nearest railing that surrounded the warp core.**

**A leak of gas sprang from one of the hatches on the warp core panelling, it spilled out thick and white and a few coughs got Geordi’s attention. There were still members of his engineering team over there.**

**“Get on out of there!” He shouted. “Forget the leak, just clear this area!”**

**“Bridge to Engineering, status report!”**

**“Leak in the warp core frame composite, I’m bypassing the matter stream to see if I can contain it but it looks like I’ll need to use an ionic plasma holoinducer, but we don’t have enough power for that!”**

**“Do what you can, Geordi,” Riker cut through the hiss of the leak. “We’ve got company dropping out of warp now, it looks like Federation!”**

**“If they can lend a hand, we’re gonna need it!” Geordi shouted back, his hands moving like lightning across the panel by the warp core, trying to do what he could to keep his engineering team safe and the ship in one piece. “Impulse power might not be enough to get us out of here when these Romulans are done with us!”**

**“Understood.”**

**And Geordi had been right, they took one more hit, right on their warp nacelle, taking out their secondary shuttlebays and sending them into a brief spiral. Geordi had to evacuate engineering into the corridors, as gas started to pool from the antimatter reactor, the warp engine was the least of their concerns when the impulse reactors were all but null.**

**He gathered his team as best he could, but counting heads, he knew there were a few who were lost in engineering. A few he couldn’t save. He would have to mourn them later, for right now his main concern was that the air felt thicker in the corridor than it had in engineering which could only mean one thing.**

**“** **_Hood_ ** **, this is Commander Riker speaking. The** **_Enterprise_ ** **arrived just in time to keep those Romulans from finishing us, but the Captain has been severely injured. Prepare to abandon ship. I want as many enlisted in shuttles as we can get, the** **_Enterprise_ ** **will beam aboard whoever can’t make it to the shuttlebays.”**

**“LaForge to Riker, I’m outside Engineering, we had to clear out of there. I’ve got about 7 people with me, but this deck seems to be losing life support. We won’t be able to get to the shuttlebay in time.”**

**“I’ll have the** **_Enterprise_ ** **beam you all out immediately. Lieutenant Crusher, is there anyone else on Deck 17?”**

**The faint ‘negative, sir’ gave Geordi relief. At least it was just them that were facing possibly suffering to death. He was worried that with the system contractor damaged, there would be too much plasma interference for their transporters to get all of them at once, leaving a few behind to keep inhaling radiation.**

**His concerns proved to be withstanding as four of the seven crewmen with him were beamed out, leaving him, an ensign and two lieutenants coughing as the radiation flooded their corridor. He held his breath as best he could, reaching for the ensign, who had collapsed.**

**He was a young Hekaran, fresh out of the Academy and Geordi was damned if he was going to let him die on his first tour. Geordi’s vision was already starting to darken, his peripheral was going hazy and he had to focus as he grabbed onto the ensign, holding the neck of his uniform, pulling him up to make sure he didn’t choke on his own tongue.**

**Right before he blacked out, he could see the reflections of the transporter beam surrounding them, his gaze on the ensign loosened and he met the ground in a slump. When he came around, it couldn’t have been more than 10 seconds later, but the fresh air filling his lungs was enough to rouse him back to consciousness.**

**He blinked slowly, his eyes stinging from contamination. He looked around and found himself in a transporter chamber, medical personnel swarming him and his comrades, the first group that had been transported out of the corridor were standing and watching with worry etched into their expressions.**

**The doctor was a willowy man with worried eyebrows. He raised his tricorder to Geordi, scanning over his condition. No doubt the radiation poisoning was concerning enough, given by the doctors expression, but there seemed to be more that made the man hesitate. “I need 10cc’s of Hyronalin, his neural tissue is beginning to go into shock. Then let’s get them to Sickbay immediately.”**

**A nurse prepared the correct hypospray and handed it to the doctor, who administered it into Geordi’s neck, before there were hands grabbing onto the newly energized crewmembers from the** **_Hood_ ** **and they were being assisted to Sickbay.**

**The** **_Enterprise_ ** **was not just bigger than the** **_Hood_ ** **due to class, it was also far more advanced, with panels in the corridor walls, showing you a schematic of the ship, with focus on one spot, which must have been their current location. The turbolifts were also much more efficient and spacious. It was not just an environmental shock for Geordi, it was a technological marvel.**

**He tried to resist from stopping to point out every bit of interest or making the Doctor take him back so he could ask about the schematics for the curvature of the structural hull. When they reached Sickbay, Geordi was surprised by the enormity of this facility. The Medbay on the** **_Hood_ ** **was barely half this size and was barely staffed due to their loss of crew from the Romulan attacks.**

**It had taken Geordi more than a few weeks to rid himself of the memory of seeing more dead nurses than patients in their Medbay, a very discouraging sight during war. But seeing this state of the art, modified Sickbay with clean equipment, actual biobeds instead of cots and more shockingly a full staff. This was actually a hospital.**

**“Please, lay down, Commander,” a nurse was speaking softly to him, urging him onto a bed. Geordi was so enthralled with the** **_Enterprise_ ** **that he almost forgot that he had radiation poisoning. He cooperated with the nurse as she helped him lie down in the bed, if Geordi was being entirely honest, his mind was a little hazy and he had stopped paying attention to what it was they were saying around him.**

**They were trained professionals, weren’t they? What was there to worry about? He could just... take a nap and they would take care of him, no problem. So he did just that. The last thing he heard was “He’s losing consciousness!”**

**Geordi wanted to laugh, he wasn’t losing anything, he was gaining a much needed nap. His eyes were fluttering shut, the last thing in his line of vision was a pale face, startling yellow eyes, and he felt a cool hand against his forehead. The soothing touch was all he needed to truly lull him to sleep.**

  * **-**



**“Commander LaForge?”**

**The familiar voice swam around in Geordi’s head, poking at a few memories before scuttling right out the other ear, leaving not even a footprint. He had no idea who was speaking to him until they spoke again.**

**“Geordi! Come on, buddy.”**

**_Will Riker_ ** **.**

**He would know that voice anywhere. At least he thought he would, but his first few seconds of semi-consciousness suggested otherwise. His brain finally pulling itself together to figure out how to function again, he was able to squint against the light and make a haphazard grunt that resonated in his throat like dropping a pebble into a gutter.**

**“How are you feeling?” Riker’s voice was quiet, suggesting that there were other patients he was trying to be respectful of. “You’ve been out for a few hours now.”**

**“Cap’n?” was as close to a word as Geordi felt like trying for right now. His chest was still heavy and his head was pounding.**

**“He’s still in surgery. The Doc’s working real hard on him.”**

**“Commander?” the nurse spoke softly, she sounded like the same one who had laid Geordi down in this bed - which was admittedly much more comfortable than it looked. “Oh, good. You’re awake. Can we have you sit up? I’d like to get a good look at those pupils.”**

**Geordi wanted to shake his head no. She was supposed to make people feel better and sitting up right now would be the absolute worst thing in the entire world. He groaned as Riker got ahold of his shoulders and tugged gently, easing him into an upright position.**

**“Sileia, bring me a hypospray with 64mg of propoxyphene hydrochloride and 0.1cc of formazine,” she spoke to what seemed like no one and Geordi worried that maybe he was more delusional than he originally thought. “We’ll take care of that headache in no time.”**

**Riker patted Geordi on the shoulder, drawing the man’s head up, he saw several burns and bruises on the Commander’s forehead. He wanted to reach up and press his thumb against them, to see if Riker was even human, but he knew that wouldn’t get a good response. Maybe he needed to lie back down.**

**A young female Vulcan shuffled over, wearing a medical Starfleet uniform. She handed the nurse a hyposprayer and watched as the woman pressed the head to Geordi’s neck and activated the trigger.**

**Within seconds, Geordi’s head started to clear up and the dull throb at the forefront of his skull was more like a numbing sensation. The relief he felt made him audibly sigh and sink further into the bed.**

**  
** **“Thanks, nurse.”**

**The woman chuckled. She was human and had thick red hair that settled just at her shoulders. “Doctor, actually. But you’re welcome.”**

**“Oh sorry, I thought the man who met us at the transporter was the doctor.”**

**She smiled, her perfectly applied lipstick drew attention right to her lips when she did so. She was pretty, not that Geordi had had the time to look at anyone with any interest other than for their skill set for quite some time.**

**“The** **_Enterprise_ ** **has two CMO’s. With that blasted war going on out there, Starfleet felt it would be best to have both of us on staff. Dr. Bashir specializes in surgery and pediatrics and I specialize in general medicine. But we work well together.”**

**“Well, thanks, Doctor...”**

**“Crusher.”**

**Riker’s eyebrows shot up his face and he turned to look at Geordi, who had a similar expression. They didn’t want to pry into this woman’s life, especially considering they had only just met, but they couldn’t help but ask.**

**“Do you have a son...?” Riker spoke gently, just in case he was wrong.**

**She chuckled, sounding surprisingly mirthful. “Yes, my son Wesley was stationed on the** **_Hood._ ** **I trust he’s done well?”**

**“Exceptionally,” Riker smiled. He was always ever so polite, more than just a First Officer, he was equally as good of a diplomat, usually having to mediate congress between their Captain and dignitaries of planets that they were trying to unify with against the Romulans.**

**A door on the far end of Sickbay slid open and a small group of figures dressed in red surgical scrubs, complete with caps that left only their face exposed. Black heavy stains splattered all over the Head Doctor’s gown and that of the man who was right by his side. With the group moving, Geordi didn’t get a good look at the man as the surgery team moved towards the reception area.**

**The male doctor beckoned Dr. Crusher over and she politely excused herself from Geordi’s bedside and went to consult with the team. Now that they were all holding still, Geordi could get a better look at the peculiar man by the Doctor’s side. His skin was a pale yellow color and from this angle, Geordi could see that he had a pointed nose and his eyebrows and eyelashes were so pale they were almost white.**

**He must have been perceptible to being stared at, because the man suddenly turned his head to look at Geordi, sending a shiver down the Commander’s back. His eyes were a startling gold, the very same that Geordi had seen right before he’d passed out.**

**“You okay?” Riker grabbed onto Geordi’s shoulder, drawing the man’s attention back to him.**

**“They must be talking about the Captain,” he spoke quietly.**

**Riker turned to look at the group just as they were splitting up. The two Head Doctors were approaching the** **_Hood_ ** **’s Commanders, followed closely by the gold eyed assistant. They all had carefully rehearsed placid expressions. This meant they would have bad news.**

**Geordi prepared himself and he heard Riker’s sharp intake of breath.**

**“I’m sorry,” Dr. Bashir’s voice was soft but solemn. “We couldn’t save your Captain.”**

**He did not have to look at Riker to gauge his reaction. He was all too good at this, Geordi had learned this the hard way. Riker would blink and nod, he would clasp his hands in front of him and he would thank the Doctors before excusing himself. He did just this and they allowed him to leave Sickbay, no doubt to find somewhere to be alone.**

**Crusher reached out a hand to grab Geordi’s shoulder as the Commander sunk deep into his bed. He blinked slowly, fighting the urge to allow tears to fall. He was not as close to Captain DeSoto as Riker was, but he felt it like a punch to his chest. He took a deep breath and let his head meet the wall behind him.**

**“We’ll give you a moment,” Crusher spoke gently. Her and her colleague stepped away, speaking quietly to each other, no doubt exchanging the details for handling the rest of the** **_Hood_ ** **’s casualties.**

**Geordi squeezed his eyes shut, a part of him was hoping that if he held them shut long enough, then this whole war would just be a bad dream. A presence lurking over him brought his eyes open again and he blinked up at the gold eyed man.**

**The man was eerily quiet, he was still wearing his surgical scrubs, the black stains of Geordi’s captain’s blood was set deep into the fabric, still wet and shimmery in the light. Geordi stared down at the stains and swallowed thickly. Captain DeSoto really was gone.**

**“Do you require further medical assistance?” the man asked. His voice was devoid of emotion and even a little naive. He was holding his hands in front of him, the gloves that covered them were also covered in blood and he was holding them as if he was afraid to touch anything else.**

**“You should probably go, uhm, clean up, shouldn’t you?” Geordi’s voice caught for a moment as his eyes followed a drop of blood from Gold Eyes index finger, down the back of his palm.**

**“Yes.”**

**The man walked away so abruptly, it almost made Geordi jump. He moved swiftly and strangely, as if his body was made of fluid. He glided back towards the OR, the door slid open to accept him. It stayed open as he quickly disposed of his scrubs and gloves, stopping to wash his arms in the sink by the edge of the room. There was a small pool of blood on the floor by his foot and Geordi quickly shut his eyes again.**

**He did not want to see it.**

**There was no sound to indicate that the man had returned, but Geordi felt a sixth sense about it. His eyes opened and met Gold Eyes intense stare.** **_Didn’t his parents teach him any manners?_ **

**“Do you require further medical assistance?” he repeated. He was now wearing a blue science Starfleet regulation uniform, his sleeves were rolled up, exposing surprisingly normal - albeit yellow - arms.**

**“No. I suppose I don’t.”**

**“Your heart rate is accelerated.”**

**Geordi blinked at the man.** **_How the hell could he tell that?_ ** **Geordi wondered. He did not have any sensors attached to him, there were no stats on his condition being displayed on a screen above him. He was not holding a tricorder, so... how did he know that? He opened his mouth to address the man, he wasn’t sure if he was Ensign, or Lieutenant or just Nurse, but looking at his collar, he had no rank pips.**

**“What’s your name?” Geordi asked, propping himself on his elbows so he could look closer at the man while still being able to lean back.**

**“Name?”**

**“Your... name?”**

**“Medical Assistance Unit.”**

**Geordi frowned. That left a bitter feeling in his chest, this man was perhaps not what he seemed, but he certainly was more than just an assistance unit, wasn’t he?**

**“What do you mean?”**

**“I am occasionally referred to as Med-Unit, for ease of communication.”**

**“So you’re telling me you don’t have a name? Just what exactly does Med-Unit mean anyways?”**

**“Yes. That is what I am telling you. And it means Medical Assistance Unit. I have already relayed this, have I not?”**

**Frustration was always a struggle for Geordi, but surprisingly he found that he was not frustrated with this man, simply concerned to a certain degree. “But.. why? I mean, forgive how this sounds, but what are you?”**

**Gold Eyes eyebrows lifted in something of relief. Or perhaps it was a strange eagerness to please. Something in his expression said** **_Ah! I know this one!_ ** **“I am an android. I do not require a name.”**

**_Android._ ** **When that word was spoken, Geordi had a plethora of images, prototypes for androids from his Academy years, poor little implike automatons that did not live for more than a week before they overheated. But this was a human sized, fully functioning android, not just ‘alive’ but assisting with a surgery. The** **_Enterprise_ ** **truly was filled with wonders that Geordi was not prepared for.**

  
  


  * -



After the death of Tasha Yar, Geordi had found himself reclused into his quarters more often than not. He would usually attempt to spend his spare time in Ten Forward, with Data and Yar, or he would spend it doing some sort of physical activity to keep himself healthy. But recently he had fallen short from his standard behavior. A fact he had expected to go unnoticed, however it had not.

Geordi was completely unaware of the special attention, the increased company of his other best friend went entirely unawares to the Lieutenant himself. His time spent on the Bridge when they were not in the middle of some other crisis was almost always accompanied by his faithful companion, Lt. Commander Data, who was stationed next to him.

The increased time with his friend was accompanied with the expected ten to twenty minute monologues on irrelevant topics. Ordinarily Geordi would interrupt Data before he got too immersed in his deluge of relayed information, yet Geordi took no action to stop him.

“...It resembles  _ suillus brevipes _ , but can be distinguished from that species by its paler-colored immature cap and by the tiny colored glands on the stipe that darken with age.”

Data’s voice was somewhat soothing and Geordi found himself able to focus on his work, allowing the words to ease through his mind as he worked.

“Geordi,” Data ventured, while sitting perfectly straight at his station. “You have not once voiced any displeasure regarding my fungi soliloquy. In the past you have not so quickly adhered to my... as some have put - ramblings. Have you accumulated additional patience or are you genuinely interested in my discoveries?”

Geordi sighed, if he was being honest, he was not even entirely sure what Data had been talking about, he was perfectly content just hearing the sound of his voice. But at the root of the matter was this; Data was used to Geordi interrupting him and not letting him finish and Geordi felt that he might owe his friend some kind of apology.

“I’m sorry, Data. I didn’t know you were so used to being cut off mid sentence. Truth is, I-uh... I don’t know what’s wrong with me, I wasn’t even paying attention.”

“Is there something on your mind, Geordi?”

“Isn’t there something on yours?”

“No. Should there be?” Data spoke as if he was afraid he was missing the punchline to a joke.

“I just mean,” Geordi paused and placed his palms against the console in front of him, the stark black panel and pulsing lights looked so lively next to his stilled hands. This Data did not miss. He took a deep breath, and glanced over his shoulder, noting that the Captain and Commander Riker were vacant from their spot on the Bridge, no doubt in the Captain’s Ready Room, going over the details for their next rendezvous point. “Doesn’t everything feel a little... wrong to you?”

Data’s head tilted slightly to the side, in that cute way that Tasha had always pointed out to Geordi when Data wasn’t looking. His stomach clenched seeing it now, he couldn’t find it in himself to fully appreciate it... not anymore.

“None of my scans seem to find anything out of the ordinary. Perhaps you should report to Sickbay.”

“No, Data, I mean... doesn’t it feel wrong to just do things we used to do? I feel like I can’t go back to how things were before. Not without her, I mean.”

Realization dawned on Data’s face by means of a simple purse of his lips. “Geordi. I believe you are heavily affected by Lieutenant Yar’s death, perhaps you should consider making an appointment with Counselor Troi.”

“Data-”

“Geordi, I am suggesting this as a superior officer, not just as your...friend,” Data said the last word with something that sounded suspiciously like disdain and Geordi felt his heart sink. Did Data not feel like they were friends? Perhaps, the more Geordi considered it, he himself had not been a very good friend recently. After all, Geordi was not the only one grieving.

_ Good job thinking of others. _ He thought to himself, mentally kicking himself repeatedly. And of course, Data was right as always. As soon as he was off duty, he contacted the Counselor, but she was all booked for the rest of the day, so he made an appointment for the following day and went to collapse onto his bed.

Being in the safety of his own bed was the only time he felt comfortable enough to remove his visor, plunging himself back into his familiar darkness. There was something of a security that he could find only when in total dark, the cool clutch of the vast black void settled over him, its fingers digging into the corner of his mind.

He was alone. And he was safe. And he would be okay. 

  * -



**The** **_Enterprise_ ** **was much bigger than the** **_Hood_ ** **and it took Geordi a few days to not get lost trying to find his way to Sickbay - which was the only place he had been allowed so far. He moved back and forth between Sickbay and his assigned quarters and he longingly wished he could do something to help.**

**Eventually after nearly a week of pacing so much he was sure he would wear a hole in the ground, finally the day came. Cmdr. Barclay, the** **_Enterprise’s_ ** **Head of Engineering came to find him. He had Lt. Crusher with him.**

**“Geordi!” Wesley sounded enthusiastic as soon as he saw Geordi, standing in his cream colored sweater and rust slacks in his quarters. Oddly enough, Wesley was wearing his uniform, but Geordi supposed he was technically still in recovery. “You better get dressed.”**

**“What do you mean?”**

**Barclay gave Geordi a tight lipped smile, from Geordi’s interactions with this man he gathered him to be very strict and not fond of Geordi at all. “You have been granted permission to assist in Engineering, Cmdr. LaForge.”**

**Geordi felt a slight wave of bitterness towards Barclay and his cold demeanor. How gracious of him to allow Geordi to help him. He would roll his eyes if he wasn’t afraid that would make Barclay change his mind. So Geordi simply smiled and nodded enthusiastically.**

**Dressed in his uniform, which felt oddly unused over the past few days, Geordi followed the men to the turbolift where Barclay directed it to Deck 36. The lights pulsed behind the wall panels and Geordi watched them go, feeling an itch trickle down his spine. It was the itch to get back in Engineering, while he was sure that the** **_Enterprise_ ** **would feel much different from the** **_Hood_ ** **, he knew that Engineering was the soul of a ship, and he needed to be there.**

**The** **_Enterprise’_ ** **s Engineering as it turned out was indeed much bigger than the** **_Hood_ ** **’s, there was easily a dozen people hard at work at various stations and it disoriented Geordi at first, he wasn’t even sure what everything was, but all he needed was about 5 minutes and a self-guided tour and he would find out.**

**Barclay was not having any of that however, he motioned for Geordi and Welsey to follow him and led them to a console that had schematics for a Romulan warbird. “We need to find a weakness in their cloaking device,” he was explaining. Seeing it laid out like this was boggling to Geordi, the** **_Hood_ ** **had never been able to subdue the Romulans for long enough to get a good scan of their ship.**

**“I can’t believe you have this!” Wesley spoke with marvel in his voice. He was easily seduced by the superior technology of the** **_Enterprise_ ** **and in a way so was Geordi, but one thing was bothering him.**

**“Why wasn’t this shared with all the ships in the fleet? With this kind of tactical advantage, Starfleet could be far more successful in the fight against the Romulans.”**

**Barclay scowled. “The** **_Enterprise_ ** **is the most efficient ship in the fleet, why would they want to lose that status? Not only that, but you never know when the Roluman are intercepting your communications. We’ve had to be careful about anything we send back to Starfleet. We can’t even give away our position.”**

**As the man spoke, Geordi felt himself grow more and more annoyed, however his attention wavered as he saw Gold Eyes walk past, dressed in an Ops-gold uniform. Geordi stared at him as he walked past, trying to get his attention. The Android walked past and did not even spare Geordi a glance.** **_Well, that’s kind of rude._ ** **Geordi thought to himself.**

**“Wesley, you’re with me, we’ll try to get through the schematics of the cloaking device and look for a pressure point,” Barclay instructed. “LaForge...Since you’re so insistent on sharing information, you can go over the logs and examine each scenario where we’ve encountered the Romulans.”**

**Geordi simply nodded, it would be best not to argue with the Chief Engineer, from what Geordi had seen he was a bit of a hardass and he didn’t want to see what he was like when he was upset. Barclay and Wesley went to the master situation monitor and Geordi went to the Office and took a seat at the console.**

**He opened the logs, which Barclay had thankfully left unlocked for him to access and he began his reading. He knew this would be tedious work and would most likely take a few hours, but he had been given an order and despite being the same rank, this was Barclay’s ship not Geordi’s, so he complied.**

**It had been nearly an hour and Geordi had only gotten through a total of 6 logs, as they were all very detailed and contained scrupulous reports of the shift in tactical approach or the effects on the ship’s hardware.**

**“Ops-Unit, go assist LaForge, he’s a slow reader, it would seem.”**

**Geordi was turning to glare at Barclay, as best he could from inside the office, when he saw Gold Eyes walking towards him. He stared at the Android for a moment, curious as to why he was even here and not in Sickbay, but he pulled up a seat next to Geordi.**

**“How may I assist you, Commander?”**

**“You’re...”**

**“The Ops-Unit. How may I be of assistance?”**

**Geordi blinked at him. “You’re different from the MedUnit?”**

**“Yes.”**

**A moment of silence passed between them, Geordi staring curiously at the Android, trying without much success to find some distinguishing feature that this one did not share with the one he had met before. The Ops-Unit stared back patiently, but this patience did not seem to last long as his eyebrows scrunched down slightly and he spoke again with more insistence.**

**“How may I assist you?”**

**“Oh. Right. Well, I need to read through these logs, to find some discrepancy in the Romulans patterns, or something that can put us on the right track of disarming their cloaking device.”**

**The Ops-Unit slid closer to the console where Geordi was working, making the Commander painfully aware of their proximity. He could feel the brush of their sleeves against the other and - more embarrassingly to Geordi - he could feel their knees slowly tap together once. Twice.**

**Geordi would have to differentiate him without using the term ‘Unit’, that felt too dehumanizing for an Android with such curiosity in his eyes. As his hands moved across the console, Geordi noted how the tendons under his skin flexed. It was so peculiar judging by the fact that he was no doubt man made, and Geordi felt for a moment like he knew the man that made him, he could see the appeal of taking painstaking care to make sure that every single finger had an accompanying string of muscle that led down to his wrist.**

**“Is there something of interest on my hand, Commander?” Gold Eyes 2.0 spoke without looking up, however his left eyebrow arched ever so slightly.**

**“Uhm, it just looks so...”** **_Real. Pretty_ ** **. There was not an appropriate term to use, so he decided it would be best to not use one at all. “Nevermind.”**

**The Android turned to stare at him for a heartbeat (of Geordi’s) too long before looking back down and sliding his fingers across a screen. Geordi watched words fly by on the screen, much too fast for any person to read and he wondered if he was looking for something. One look up at Gold Eyes 2.0’s face told him that he was actually reading it, his eyes darting back and forth and no doubt retaining every bit of information.**

**Geordi thought that was incredible.**

**“The only fluctuation I can find is a slight shift in their metaphasic shielding capacitor. According to these readings, their shield percentage drops to 45% during the 0.9 seconds it takes for their cloak to activate. This could be used to our advantage.”**

**Geordi leaned forwards to look at the readings that the Android had brought up. “Try decreasing the baryon particle variance in that last log. Let me see the base level readings from the ship’s chroniton particles, I feel like we’re overlooking something in there.”**

**The Android’s hands flew across the console as he completed the requested task and presented Geordi with a graph of the readings he asked for. Geordi meticulously observed them. Numbers swam around in Geordi’s head, there was something they were missing, there had to be.**

**“There’s something there, Gold Eyes, I know it.”**

**“Gold... Eyes?”**

**“Well, you have to have a name, don’t you? And Ops-Unit won’t do. Now, come on, show me the chroniton particle trajectories, let’s find the root of their power.”**

**It took Geordi nearly ten minutes of studying the logs before he thought he knew what he was looking for. The secret had to be in the shield while the ship was cloaked, if their shield decreased in power by 46% then surely they could use that to their advantage. But the damned cloaking device made it nearly impossible.**

**The** **_Enterprise_ ** **for all its advanced technology and superior sensors, still was no match for the Romulans cloaking device. They could slip in unnoticed and uncloak while the** **_Enterprise_ ** **was unprepared - catching them with their pants down as the old saying went, and they couldn’t afford that.**

**Chroniton particles, baryon particles, the components of their research was running through Geordi’s mind, burning through his thoughts like matches, he was narrowing down his theories piece by piece.**

**The readings from the cloaking device wasn’t the key, so Geordi went back to the masterlog of reports and specifics, he scanned through them, looking for that singularity to jump out at him. He could sit here and speculate on his ideas and thoughts for hours, but thankfully he didn’t, because** **_there_ ** **it was. That was the key. The shield itself.**

**Their schematics on the shield had the 46% difference when cloaked and when not. But there was another little weakness. It was a slight fluctuation in the density of the shield, the percentage was down 10% more by their warp discharge. It was almost unnoticeable, in fact any normal Operations Officer wouldn’t think anything of it.**

**But Geordi was not any normal Operations Officer. He relayed his findings to Gold Eyes 2.0, watching the Android run calculations.**

**“Your suggested course of action...?”**

**Geordi adapted a dangerously clever grin. “If we can create some kind of spatial distortion field using polaron bursts, we can make a bubble around the** **_Enterprise_ ** **.”**

**The Android seemed to perk up as he caught onto Geordi’s plan. “You wish to use a direct force collision to disarm their shields.”**

**“Their cloaking device already lowers their defences, we just need to get at the right angle and we can pop their shields like a bubble.”**

**“How do you suggest tracking them while they are cloaked?”**

**“Well, looking at these readings, if we time the polaron bursts right, it’ll stick to their shield like gum on a shoe, this should lower their shield polarity.”**

**“Revealing them to our sensors.”**

**“Exactly!” Geordi felt a shiver run through his body. The feeling of what could result in a victory coarsed excitement through his veins, it was so rare that the** **_Hood_ ** **crew experienced anything close to success. The excitement made him restless. He rose to his feet and raised his hand in the air. The Android stared at it curiously. “Oh... it’s a high five.”**

**Gold Eyes 2.0’s eyes darted back and forth for a moment before he nodded and said “Ah!” and raised his own hand to tap Geordi’s gently. “To.. celebrate our findings?”**

**“Precisely. Let’s give Barclay what we found.”**

**The Android reached out his hand to catch Geordi’s arm. “I believe this would best be given to the Captain himself.”**

**Geordi felt a sudden fear shoot through his body. He had not met the Captain of the** **_Enterprise_ ** **, but Captain Picard’s reputation preceded him and Geordi knew all about him. He was the toughest Captain to come out of Starfleet in 100 years, after all he was given the toughest ship because nothing else would do for him. He was respected and even feared by most other Captain’s and even some Admirals. He was Starfleet to the core and Geordi worried that he wouldn’t live up to his standards.**

**Gold Eyes 2.0 stood and waited for Geordi to follow him, surprisingly going unnoticed by Cmdr. Barclay and Wesley, as they made their way to the turbolift and boarded it. The Android requested the Bridge and it whirred to life, passing through the decks of the** **_Enterprise_ ** **in silence.**

**“I have a name,” the Android broke the silence and Geordi turned to look at him.**

**“What?”**

**“You said I have to have a name. I already do.”**

**_Oh._ ** **“What is-”**

**The doors slid open, revealing the Bridge before them. Geordi was not one to get nervous outside of explicitly social situations, yet now he found his palms to be sweatier than usual. There was a flash of heat that surged over Geordi’s neck as he stepped onto the Bridge, the first thing that he was faced with was a Klingon standing at the tactical station, he had long dark hair that came down to his waist, he was back in a loose ponytail.**

**“Ops-Unit?” the Klingon spoke, his voice was strong and stern, no doubt a Commanding officer, but from their angle, Geordi couldn’t see his rank. “How can I help you?”**

**The Android stepped out from behind Geordi, stopping slightly in front of him, almost as if shielding him with his own body from a potential scolding by the Klingon. “We would like to present an idea to the Captain regarding the Romulan cloaking device that Cmdr. Barclay was tasked with studying.”**

**“I am the Chief Tactical officer, you may present your idea to me. And if Cmdr. Barclay was tasked with it... why are you here in his stead?” the Klingon spoke with a slight accusatory tone. It was clear to Geordi that there was no respect for the Androids on this ship.**

**“Lt. Worf, I believe it would be best if this were presented to the Captain or the First Officer,” Gold Eyes 2.0 (or whatever his name actually was) was determined and raised his chin a little, almost displaying a kind of defiance. This was usually appreciated by Klingons, so he seemed to be hoping that this would work to his own advantage.**

**It did not.**

**“No,” Lt. Worf insisted. He was apparently not a very easily swayed man.**

**However, to their luck, the Captain emerged from his ready room, stopping to look towards where Worf was failing at dissuading the Android. Captain Jean-Luc Picard, who Geordi had been most afraid to meet here on the** **_Enterprise,_ ** **was just about as intimidating as he expected him to be. His baldness seemed not a sign of age but rather gave him an ambiguity that made him seem neutral, trustworthy, yet powerful.**

**“What is going on here, Mr. Worf?” the Captain asked, stopping just a few feet away, observing the scene with a nondescript look in his eyes. He was impossible to read. He crossed his arms, one of his hands meeting his mouth, where he gently rubbed at the neatly trimmed beard that he sported.**

**“The Ops-Unit has brought this man to the bridge. It claims it has some kind of findings to report.”**

**_It._ ** **Geordi clenched his jaw.**

**“Geordi?” a voice from behind Picard sent relief through Geordi’s body. Cmdr. Riker was standing behind him, looking around the Captain at LaForge with a kind of familiar casualness that only he could achieve in this situation. “Captain, if Geordi has something that he believes could help us, I suggest you listen to him. He’s the best Engineer I’ve ever met.”**

**The Captain adopted a sort of subtle smile, casting an amused glance at Worf, almost like a parent regarding their child with a sort of patronising appreciation. “I do not doubt this, Commander. Mr. LaForge, please accompany me to the conference room. Cmdr. Riker,” he waved his hand towards the opposite side of the Bridge, across from the turbolift.**

**Now stepping further onto the Bridge, Geordi could see more of it. He could see the viewport, which was possibly the biggest he’d ever seen. It was a gorgeous view of deep black space and twinkling little stars that reminded Geordi why he joined Starfleet in the first place. He could also see the command seating where the Captain and his First Officer would sit, and just ahead of that was the conn and ops station, where two officers sat, one in ops-gold and one in the command-red.**

**“Sir, can Go- the Ops-Unit accompany us?** **_He_ ** **does possess more accurate knowledge on the specifics of my theory,” Geordi reasoned, hoping that the Captain would see the logic in this. And he was sure to cast a glance towards Worf as he addressed the Android as an individual.**

**  
** **“The Ops-Unit?” Captain Picard turned to look at Gold Eyes 2.0 as if seeing him for the first time. “Join us in the conference room? Hm, yes I suppose so.”**

**“Sir,” the man at the conn spun his chair around. It was yet another Android, the exact same features and design. He was identical.** **_Gold Eyes 3.0_ ** **, Geordi thought with a mental smirk. “Might I suggest I join you instead? The Ops-Unit is not familiar with the... etiquette required in the conference room.”**

**Cmdr. Riker frowned and looked between the two Androids, seemingly confused and surprised by the duplicate appearances. The Captain nodded, he looked like he was more comfortable with this alternative. Geordi however was not. He had not worked out his theory with that Android, he had done so with 2.0, not 3.0.**

**He turned to look at the one who had been helping him, he reached towards his arm, as if to ask him to argue with his twin. The operations Android leaned in close, conspiratorially whispering. “My brother is equipped with the same knowledge and capabilities that I am. He will be an adequate replacement.”**

**And with that, the Android turned and moved back into the Turbolift.**

**Geordi felt his skin itching in strange places. He was not prepared to give this presentation without his research partner, however haphazardly they had been lumped together, he still had mentally approached this in a pair. And there was something in the eye of 3.0 that made Geordi’s hair stand on end. He kept his distance from this Android as they followed the Captain into the conference room.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's that for their first meetings! I hope you enjoyed it :)  
> Please please let me know what you think in the comments, this fic is kind of everything to me right now.  
> Also I want to thank my friends on tumblr that I've made over the past month or so since I got back into it. Chelsea (liquidx here on ao3, go read their fic stranded out of time) has been a tremendous support and I really appreciate their feedback, insight and general shared enthusiasm regarding my inspo pics. Holly, who was my first friend on star trek tumblr since I rejoined and she's always so kind and encouraging to me and I love her to bits. I don't know if either of you will read this, but I want you both to know how much I appreciate you and how much help you've been to me whether you've realized it or not.  
> I hope everyone's staying healthy and safe and taking care of themselves! I've recently gone back to work so sorry this update took longer than expected. There might be slightly more of a delay between updates now since I only get 2 days off on average and I've been exhausted by the time I get home or I've tried to spend time with my family.  
> Take care everyone, thank you so much for reading my fic <3 Love you all
> 
> Hint for next chapter: vamoose you little varmint ;)


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